Railway construction on the Long Bridge Project will prompt some service changes to Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) in Alexandria, starting next month.
Construction is expected to begin Jan. 12 and continue through 2030, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) announced this week.
City leaders and various transportation officials broke ground yesterday (Wednesday) on a bundle of improvement projects at Amtrak’s Alexandria Union Station.
Four upcoming projects seek to expand passenger and freight rail service at Alexandria Union Station at 110 Callahan Drive, while improving safety for passengers and the city. The projects coincide with VPRA’s Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) initiative, which aims to expand the state’s rail service by separating passenger and freight trains and building new infrastructure.
Starting in January 2026, Virginia Railway Express will adjust its rail service due to the Long Bridge Project, with some trains operating from Alexandria instead of Union Station. The company is also welcoming the return of the Amtrak Step-Up Program, offering additional travel options.
The Long Bridge Project, once completed by 2030, will enable more freight and passenger rail service by separating the lines between Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The current two-track system, widely regarded as a bottleneck, has negatively impacted travel times.
Amtrak Virginia’s ridership numbers continue to show increases, according to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. Ending fiscal year 2025, more than 1.4 million passengers traveled on state supported rail service — an increase of 4.8% compared to the same time last year. It was the region’s highest ridership recorded since the service launched in 2009, with one roundtrip route between Washington D.C. and Lynchburg.
“The growth that we are continually seeing in our Amtrak Virginia ridership just confirms our work to expand passenger rail in Virginia,” said DJ Stadtler, executive director of VPRA in a press release.
Alexandria’s Amtrak station (110 Callaham Drive) is now the second busiest in the Southeast, with 358,629 passengers in the fiscal year 2024. It’s just behind Richmond’s Staples Mill Road Station, which saw 464,881 riders in the same period, according to Amtrak’s latest figures released today (April 7).
Amtrak has hit a new high, serving 32.8 million customers in fiscal year 2024 – a record for the rail service.
Got a Christmas tree yet?
The Alexandria Police Department has already sold more than 300 trees in its annual sale at 110 Callahan Drive — just outside Alexandria Union Station.
Amtrak said last year was one for the books for train travel around Virginia and the Alexandria station had the state’s second-highest ridership in the southeastern United States.
Just behind Richmond at 424,617 riders, Alexandria Union Station had 327,285 riders in 2023.
(Updated 1:20 p.m.) Train riders bound for D.C. are disembarking in Alexandria instead after a derailment this morning.
Police were deployed to Alexandria’s Amtrak station at 101 Callahan Drive to help handle unruly passengers frustrated by the delays, according to scanner traffic, but so far police at the station said that’s been “theoretical” only.
