ANYONE who has ever attempted to travel between Charlottesville and Washington, D.C. without a car knows that it is far more difficult than one might think. It is practically impossible to make the five-hour round trip in one day.
Currently, there is only one train which runs from Charlottesville to the District daily. The train is on a long-haul trip from New Orleans and has been traveling for close to nineteen hours before reaching Charlottesville, making it frequently late. Ticket prices for the short trip to the District run up to $50 each way.
Luckily, a solution is in sight. A group of dedicated Charlottesville citizens, under the leadership of former Charlottesville Vice Mayor Meredith Richards and Butch Davies, Culpeper district representative on the Commonwealth Board of Transportation, have proposed a solution that would end transportation headaches for Charlottesville residents. By extending the current Virginia Railway Express south from Manassas, through Culpeper and Orange to Charlottesville, the new link would have dramatic benefits to students, faculty and the entire Charlottesville community.
The most resounding impact of the service would be convenience. The link is promised to be more reliable than the current Amtrak service. For the thousands of students from Northern Virginia, the link would provide a cost-efficient and reliable way to get home. The link would also reduce congestion going into Charlottesville, especially on football game days when many alumni and students' parents visit Charlottesville just for the game, and facilitate upperclassmen traveling to the District for job interviews and internships.
A fast and reliable way to visit Charlottesville would encourage visitors and potentially increase the number of guest speakers, many of whom are traveling to the University from the District. In an interview, Richards points out that "faculty and staff frequently travel to the District for professional reasons. The link would allow them to do work instead of drive
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