The Fredericksburg Line is a commuter rail line operated by Virginia Railway Express between

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Fredericksburg, VA Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg with ...

. Virginia Railway Express operates 8 weekday trains, and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

trains serve a few of the stations on the line. Trackage is owned by

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

as part of their

RF&P Subdivision The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation. It runs from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. ...

History

RF&P

What is today the Fredericksburg Line was originally part of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad (or RF&P), a connector railroad between the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads in

, and the

Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

and

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

s in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. In 1991

absorbed the RF&P and the line is now their

Virginia Railway Express

In 1992 Virginia Railway Express (or VRE) was formed to serve the former RF&P between Washington's Union Station and

as well as stations between Washington and

Manassas, VA Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

's Piedmont Division. In 2015, the route was extended to Spotsylvania.

Amtrak

Along with VRE, many

trains also utilize this line. Their

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busi ...

trains stop at 6 of the 12 stations on the line and Alexandria Union Station, Alexandria is a major stop for 6 of their long distance trains.

Expansion

Work was completed on a third track between Alexandria Union Station, Alexandria and Franconia–Springfield station, Franconia-Springfield in 2010. This track enables VRE and Amtrak trains to bypass slow freight trains over Franconia Hill. VRE would also like to add another third track between Powells Creek (Potomac River tributary), Powells Creek in Prince William County, Virginia, Prince William County and Arkendale Road in Stafford County, Virginia, Stafford County in the near future.

Stations list

References

{{Transit in NOVA Rail infrastructure in Virginia Rail infrastructure in Washington, D.C. 1992 establishments in Virginia