We would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by the delays on the Fredericksburg Line this morning (Tuesday Dec. 6, 2016). As most of you know, VRE Train 304 (Departs Spotsylvania at 5:23 am) struck a vehicle at the Brent Point Road crossing. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but the vehicle ended up fouling Track 3, while our train was sitting on Track 2.
With no trains able to go around the scene, we let riders know the delay could be significant and to consider other options for the commute this morning. We were originally going to simply move all of our trains back south to Spotsylvania and get everyone back to their origination stations/cars, but CSX was able to get the track clear and we were able to move Train 304 up to Quantico. This allowed everyone to detrain at Quantico, move Train 304 out of the way, and then bring 306 and 308 north. Since many riders decided to head back south and either take the day off or telework, PRTC provided buses from Quantico to shuttle everyone back to the southern stations.
As always, we will hold a debrief meeting on this incident to look for areas to improve the response and recovery. We would like to thank our partners at CSX, Amtrak, and Keolis, as well as the first responders from Stafford County and the Virginia State Police for their efforts to resolve the incident as quickly as possible. Special thanks to PRTC for being flexible enough to get us 7 buses on short notice to help take care of our passengers.
This afternoon, we will operate on an “S” schedule for the Fredericksburg Line. That means only the trains designated with an “S” on our schedule will operate. Those trains are 301 (Departs Union Station at 12:55 pm), Train 305 (Departs Union Station at 3:25 pm), Train 309 (Departs Union Station at 4:40 pm), and Train 313 (Departs Union Station at 6:00 pm).
Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience this morning. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.
Thank you for riding VRE.
Chris Henry
Director of Rail Operations
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Vehicle Hit by VRE Train in Stafford
