HD100 - Virginia Railway Express Gainesville-Haymarket Extension Implementation Plan


Executive Summary:
The proposed Gainesville-Haymarket project would extend VRE commuter rail service for 11 miles between the City of Manassas and Haymarket, located in Prince William County, Virginia. The VRE extension would use an existing railroad right-of-way owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. that currently is used exclusively by freight trains. An extensive upgrade of the rail line would be required to make the line suitable for passenger service.

At this point in time, identifying a precise estimate of the capital costs to be funded from public sources would be misleading, because not all costs are known, and because the sharing of costs among various possible public and private sources will require agreements that have not yet been negotiated. However, initial conceptual plans for the extension have been prepared, and capital investment is expected to be in the range of $174 to $281 million dollars to make the necessary railroad infrastructure and rail yard facility improvements to support full VRE service to Haymarket, construct three new passenger stations and associated parking, and purchase additional VRE rolling stock to carry the new passengers that would be attracted to the system. The cost range is a wide one because no significant engineering work has yet been done, the quantity of required station parking cannot be precisely determined until more detailed ridership, projections have been prepared, and the mix of surface and structured parking has not yet been determined. The cost could increase if engineering studies identify significant utilities to be relocated, if environmental analyses identify impacts that need to be mitigated, or if property must be purchased to widen the right-of-way in places. On the other hand, the costs to be borne by the public sector could be significantly reduced by proffers from station area developers and contributions from other private sector stakeholders. The project also could be implemented in phases, in order to manage cost. An initial interim phase providing limited VRE service to Gainesville could be implemented for between $66 and $109 million, perhaps shortening the implementation process by relying only on State, local and private funding.

The VRE extension project should not be considered as a stand-alone project. It affects, and is affected by, other VRE capital projects, highway construction and railroad grade separation projects in the corridor, and planning, zoning and development approval actions that need to be taken by Prince William County. The costs identified above are in addition to the funds that VRE will require to support anticipated growth in demand for rail service within its existing service territory - the costs of which have been identified in the VRE Strategic Plan, but for which full funding has not yet been obtained. The VRE extension project also may adjust the planned timing of highway projects to eliminate railroad grade crossings, or it may trigger new projects - requiring funding over and above what is currently budgeted.

The full project to extend VRE service 11 miles from Manassas to Haymarket will take an estimated nine years to complete, allowing for completion of the I-66/US 29 interchange and railroad grade-separation project. Phased implementation could realistically provide for initial service to Gainesville within a seven year time period. A fast-track approach to implementing the project, with strong leadership, close coordination among project stakeholders and no significant delays, could result incompletion of the first phase in approximately four years - however, this schedule is very optimistic. The following key project stakeholders, at a minimum, would need to reach a consensus and enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with each other to enable the project to progress:

• Virginia Railway Express (VRE)

• Norfolk Southern (NS)

• Virginia Dept. of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT)

• Virginia Dept. of Transportation (VDOT)

• Prince William County (PWC)

The MOU would outline each party's roles, responsibilities and funding commitments. Other stakeholders also will need to be actively involved, including the City of Manassas (right-of-way and grade crossings within the City), CSX and Amtrak (who control the number of VRE trains that can operate into Washington, DC) and station area developers (who may choose to proffer station and rail infrastructure as part of their proposed development projects).

The VRE extension project presents an excellent opportunity for public-private partnership. NS will benefit from the rail infrastructure investments and has indicated a willingness to share in the funding of those projects. There are possible transit-oriented development projects at or associated with all three of the potential new VRE stations. Developers would receive the benefits of additional density and development flexibility in exchange for constructing the stations and parking facilities. All of the partners are potentially in place for a successful public-private partnership to implement the VRE extension, and land remains available to create a new passenger rail line, with attractive mixed-use employment centers and residential neighborhoods around the rail stations. The rail extension and station area development projects could be mutually beneficial and help Prince William County achieve its plans for managed growth. However, the window of opportunity for action may be short, given the intense development pressure in the corridor.

In the event a consensus is reached among the railroad stakeholders to proceed with the extension project, the next step in the process would be to obtain funding for engineering and environmental studies and commission an engineering feasibility study and analysis of environmental issues associated with the project. The following are recommended early action items:

• Secure funding for and conduct an engineering feasibility study, alternatives analysis and environmental review (VRE)

• Develop corridor land use and station area plans and/or development guidelines as a basis for ongoing rail line extension planning (PWC)

• Secure right-of-way and property for stations and railroad yard and shop facility (VRE and PWC)

• Formalize working arrangements among stakeholders (All).