RICHMOND, Va. — State-supported Amtrak trains will begin serving Norfolk, Va., by the end of this year, 10 months earlier than originally projected. The Commonwealth Transportation Board passed a resolution outlining the new start date today.
Virginia has grown its state-supported network as extensions to the Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor. Trains arriving in Washington from Boston and New York now continue on to Lynchburg and Richmond, Va., and ridership on the corridors has surged. The Norfolk connection will offer travelers new destinations.
The trains will use CSX rails from Washington to Petersburg, Va., then Norfolk Southern from Petersburg to Norfolk.
“There is high demand for passenger rail service in Virginia, as demonstrated by considerable ridership growth throughout the commonwealth,” said Joe McHugh, Amtrak’s vice president of government affairs and corporate communications. “We have a strong partnership with the commonwealth, and look forward to operating this expanded service to Norfolk in 2012, providing passengers the option of convenient one-seat service to Washington and Northeast Corridor destinations.”
