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Bringing Elected Officials Together: NVTC

While many riders may not think of what goes on behind the scenes to make their commutes happen, dozens of committed officials and professional staffers are committed to maintaining and growing public transportation in Northern Virginia.  

NVTC and VRE's History

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) was founded in 1964. While it would be nearly three decades before VRE trains started rolling down the tracks, discussions surrounding a commuter rail system in Northern Virginia began soon after the General Assembly created the Northern Virginia Transportation District. The founding jurisdictions included Arlington and Fairfax Counties and the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax. Loudon County joined in 1990.  

A 1984 feasibility study kicked off the formal planning stage. Two years later came the origination of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC), created, in part, to join with NVTC in launching VRE.

NVTC and VRE Today

To this day, NVTC and PRTC support and appoint members to the VRE Operations Board. The two Commissions jointly own all the assets, including the rolling stock and stations.  

The creation and ongoing support of VRE is an example of how NVTC (and PRTC) bring together elected officials from across Northern Virginia to make regional decisions to improve transportation. NVTC gives communities a voice and promotes cross-jurisdictional cooperation. That cooperation is evident in how Northern Virginia manages its relationship with Metro, speaking with one voice to ensure high-quality service across the region. NVTC is also active in planning for regional Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems and, through comprehensive data analysis, helps local systems find the best routes for their buses.  

 

Free Ride Certificates (aka: FRCs)

If a VRE train enters a station 30 minutes or more behind schedule, passengers detraining from that point forward are entitled to receive one "Free Ride Certificate" good for a FREE one-way trip on VRE.

Tags: delays, free-ride-certificates
Train Delays
Train Delays

There are many reasons for delays and below, we try to highlight some of the major ones:

Tags: delays, flood-related-delays, heat-related-delays, track-work
History of the Railroader's Timepiece

Keeping time on the railroad began as an imperfect science. Timepieces of the very early 1800's were notorious for losing as much as ten minutes a day.

Tags: railroad-history
Bell Versus Horn

Two very symbolic and perhaps widely known components of the locomotive are the bell and the horn. Both are vital safety features, however, the bell's use predates the locomotive to the days of horse-drawn street cars and carriages.

Tags: horn, railroad-history, safety
History of Railroad Signaling

Since its birth, the railroad has employed a variety of signaling methods to communicate with locomotive crews as to what course of action they must take, mile by mile, in order to safeguard themselves from possible collision.

Tags: railroad-history, safety, signals