Virginia Railway Express
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S
REPORT
August 2009
MONTHLY DELAY SUMMARY
System wide
Total delays
Average length of delay (mins.)
Number over 30 minutes
Days with Heat Restrictions/Total days
On-Time Performance
Fredericksburg Line
Total delays
Average length of delay (mins.)
Number over 30 minutes
On-Time Performance
Manassas Line
Total delays
Average length of delay (mins.)
Number over 30 minutes
On-Time Performance
April
May
June
July
45
15
4
2/22
92.9%
50
15
2
0/20
91.4%
76
21
18
3/22
88%
45
20
5
0/22
92.9%
21
15
1
92.7%
33
18
2
87.3%
43
22
11
84.9%
24
19
2
91.6%
24
15
3
93.2%
17
11
0
94.7%
33
19
7
90.6%
21
21
3
94.0%
SYSTEM RIDERSHIP
The total number of July trips in 2009 was 1.3% higher than in July 2008. Interestingly, the
growth was on the Manassas Line, up 5.9% when compared with July 2008. Meanwhile, the
Fredericksburg Line dropped 2.5%. On-time performance on the Fredericksburg Line has
shown long-term improvement. It is possible that Fredericksburg Line riders have been more
affected by the recent series of fare increases. Survey results show that our Manassas Line
riders are more affluent than our Fredericksburg Line riders.
SYSTEM ON TIME PERFORMANCE
System on-time performance for July was 92.9%. OTP on the Manassas Line was 94% and the
Fredericksburg Line was 91.6%.
We had 10 days that we operated 100% on-time on the
Manassas Line and 8 days that we operated 100% on-time on the Fredericksburg Line. We also
had 16 days of no delays during the morning service and only 8 out of the 45 delays occurred
during the morning service, accomplishing our goal to focus on getting riders to work in a
timely fashion.
We reached an unprecedented milestone during the month of July by not having a mechanical
failure or a mechanical delay the entire month. This is the first time in anyone’s memory that
this has occurred.
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SPOTSYLVANIA PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Spotsylvania Board is planning to hold a public hearing concerning VRE on August 18th
and may vote on joining PRTC/VRE and may ratify the VRE Master Agreement, VRE
Membership agreement, and PRTC founding ordinance. Results of this meeting will be
discussed at the Operations Board meeting.
WOODBRIDGE STATION UPDATE
Work continues on various elements of the elevator/stair tower and pedestrian bridge at the
Woodbridge station. Construction of the platform and canopy will begin following the shifting
of the west track, which is anticipated for late August or early September. The project is
expected to be completed this fall.
NEW EQUIPMENT UPDATE
The first five of the last ten new rail cars are now in Milwaukee where they will be fitted with
seats and the interior of the cars will be completed. The second five are en-route between
Savannah and Milwaukee. Delivery time is on-schedule. The first five will be delivered in midJanuary, and the last five will be delivered in February.
OCTOBER SCHEDULE CHANGE
On September 30, DRPT will run their Inaugural Train for the new state-funded Lynchburg
service. The Inaugural train is currently scheduled to depart Union Station at 10:00 am and
arrive in Lynchburg at 3:10 pm. Along the way, the train will make station stops at Alexandria,
Burke Centre, Manassas, Culpeper, and Charlottesville. The train is planning to stop for 15
minutes at each station to accommodate any elected officials wishing to speak. The train will
then be in place for its first revenue run on Thursday, October 1.
The state-funded train will accept Virginia Railway Express passengers who use the Amtrak
“step-up” ticket which upgrades a VRE ticket for an extra $10.00. This new train will be worked
into our existing schedule and some of our train times will be adjusted slightly. The new
schedule will be available as soon as it is approved. New Rider’s Guides, pocket schedules and
posters will be printed in time for the new service.
BROOKE AND LEELAND ROAD PROJECTS
VRE is continuing to investigate the preferred site for parking expansion at Brooke. All field
work has been completed and no evidence of significant archaeological findings was
discovered. The archaeological and historical report is being prepared for submission to
VDHR. Once approved, the report will be included in the Environmental Assessment
submitted to FTA. VRE and Stafford County are working to consider options for property
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acquisition at the site. Final design of the approximate 200 space parking expansion will begin
once the environmental phase is finalized.
The Environmental Assessment for the Leeland Road parking lot expansion project is currently
under review by FTA. In order to keep the project on schedule, VRE is soliciting proposals for
final design. The project will provide approximately 200 additional parking spaces on the
PRTC owned lot to the west of the existing parking lot. The Stafford County Planning
Commission is currently considering a zoning reclassification (to allow for parking and a radio
tower) of the parcel. The item will be presented before the Planning Commission August 19,
2009, and then to the Board of Supervisors in September 2009.
EMERGENCY TRAINING EXERCISE
Each fall, VRE conducts an annual emergency simulation, usually at one of our rail yards. These
emergency simulations include a train crew, a train set consisting of a locomotive and passenger
cars, and passengers. We are asking for volunteers from our passengers for this year’s event
scheduled for Saturday, October 17th at Broad Run. The goal is to understand how well
coordination between train crews, train dispatchers, first responders (such as police, fire, EMS,
& federal authorities) occurs in an actual emergency as well as gauge how well emergency
procedures are followed.
Federal agencies such as the FRA, NTSB, FTA, the FBI and the host railroads – CSX, AMTRAK
and Norfolk Southern – are invited to observe and evaluate how well the response actions are
coordinated among the various players.
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MONTHLY PERFORMANCE MEASURES – JULY 2009
MONTHLY ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
ON-TIME
PERCENTAGE
July Fredericksburg OTP Average
91.6%
July Manassas OTP Average
94%
VRE JULY OVERALL OTP AVERAGE
92.9%
RIDERSHIP YEAR TO DATE
RIDERSHIP
VRE FY 2009 Passenger Totals
VRE FY 2008 Passenger Totals
342,930
338,591
PERCENTAGE CHANGE
1.3%
RIDERSHIP MONTH TO MONTH COMPARISON
DESCRIPTION
MONTHLY RIDERSHIP
JULY 2009
342,930
JULY 2008
338,591
PERCENTAGE CHANGE
1.3%
SERVICE DAYS (CURRENT/PRIOR)
22 / 22
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