(rshsdepot) Richmond, VA

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Amtrak Service Change 'a Setback' in Richmond

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Apr. 23--Later morning train service to downtown Richmond presents the
latest challenge to the long-running renovation of the more than century-old
Main Street Station.
It's "a setback, but not a blow," the city's principal planner said
yesterday.

When ground was broken on the project in October 2000, officials expected
the first phase to be completed by the end of 2002. That was subsequently
postponed to this month, then to early June.

Viktoria Badger, the city's principal planner, disclosed yesterday that
construction delays imperil that date. And the delays are adding to the cost
of the project.

"It will be this summer, but summer technically goes all the way to
September.

"The building is 102 years old," Badger said. "We've had delays because of
asbestos, hazardous materials, and we've had a floor fall in.

"Every time we open up the wall, we find a whole new set of unforeseen
circumstances."

The delays have contributed to a $3.4 million increase in the project's
overall cost, she said, raising it to $51.6 million once all the work is
finished by 2007.

Badger, who supervises the station renovation, noted that city funds cover
less than 1 percent of the work, with federal money paying 80 percent and
the state picking up the remainder.

She said Amtrak's decision to halt its service that provided a train from
Washington through Ashland and into Richmond at 8:30 a.m. makes the rail
option less attractive to business travelers.

"It still would have Richmond as a destination," Badger said. "What it does
is take away the opportunity for people to commute from Ashland or other
points to be here in time to go to work."

Yesterday it was reported that starting next week Amtrak will halt its
Twilight Shoreliner service that originated in Boston and ended in Newport
News.

Amtrak officials said they decided to end the Shoreliner service south of
Washington to improve its schedule along the Northeast corridor.

As a result, any new service into Main Street Station will not arrive until
10:28 a.m.

Amtrak's top official in Virginia said yesterday he hopes a renovated Main
Street Station will convince his superiors that an earlier train into
Richmond could make money.

"We've got nothing to target the business market right now," said Michael
Jerew, Amtrak's district manager.

A regional rail-feasibility study released in March estimated that 900
passengers would make the round trip from Ashland to Main Street Station on
weekdays if service were provided.

Ashland Mayor Angela LaCombe said the Town Council plans to send a letter to
Amtrak underscoring the importance of train service, both to area residents
and students at Randolph-Macon College.

"The message we're sending Amtrak is we really depend on Amtrak and really
want to keep the best service we can," LaCombe said yesterday.

John Newell, who commutes from Ashland to his government job in Richmond,
said he has written the president of Amtrak to protest the change.

If an Ashland-Richmond train arrived before 9 a.m., he said, he would be
willing to adjust his schedule to avoid driving on Interstate 95.

"Now it's not an option at all."


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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