August

• Cynthia from Fredericksburg, VA asks
  What determines when or if on the route tickets are requested by the conductor? I always haba a validated ticket but it is quite often not requested. Just curious as to why. Thanks for the good work!

  VRE Response
  Tickets should be checked on every car of every train, at random points along the route.  If you do not get your ticket checked, please let us know which train you were on and we'll address it with the conductors.

   

• Tina from Woodbridge, VA asks
  In reference to M From VA comments and questions, I am confused about the Alexandria station. The sign with an arrow at the station shows Track 3 being farthest away from the platform. So which is accurate? I have looked at the sign so many times and listened to the announcements, too. Thank you.

  VRE Response
  The arrow on the Amtrak signage for track 3 points to the nearest track.  The sign for Track 2 points down the stairs to the tunnel.  From the east: The closest track to the Metro station is Track 1, the Track adjacent  closes to the Amtrak station is Track 3, and the one in between is Track 2.

   

   

• JP from Stafford, VA asks
  When will the VRE mobile app be updated? It seems to not be working reliably since I upgraded to IOS 16. There is very poor AT&T service at Brooke, and I frequently have to turn on Airplane mode to get my ticket to validate before boarding the train. Thanks!

  VRE Response
  Thanks JP, the app is updated as changes are made.  The cell service is typically poor on the whole stretch between Leeland Road and Rippon which is one of the reasons we required American Eagle to design the app for offline validation.  Please reach out to us at GoTrains@vre.org with your contact information and we can work with you and AE to help resolve the issue.

   

• Christopher from Burke VA asks
  Can the clock in the parking structure tower be repaired at the Burke Station? And also replace the benches that were removed with new ones.

  VRE Response
  We'll check with the status on both.  If you send us your contact information to GoTrains@vre.org, we'll get the info to you.

   

• JP from Stafford, VA asks
  When VRE trains cannot service Union Station, customers who have paid for a trip have to stop at L'Enfant, then pay Metro $2 to finish their trip. Is there a way VRE can help riders in that situation?

  VRE Response
  We don't have a quick answer for you yet  but would like to get the Metro Option back for these types of incidents.

• M from VA asks
  It seems almost every evening waiting for the Manassas line train to arrive in Alexandria, there are repeated announcements that train whatever will arrive on track 2, the track furthest from the platform, but it never does. Most people appear to ignore this message but if it ever does arrive on that track, we will be left scrambling. On a good note - it appears the grass has been mowed in the past couple of weeks so it is not outrageously wrong.

  VRE Response
  The message you are hearing for Track 2 is generally for one of the reverse flow, northbound trains on the Manassas Line 336 or 338.  The southbound, peak direction trains generally arrive Alexandria on Track 3.

   

• Davin from Woodbridge, Virginia asks
  The I-95 express lanes have been expanded to Fredericksburg. However, VRE operates just the express lanes - in one direction in the morning and the other direction in the afternoon. They are in talks to change it to multi-direction all day. If VRE could run multi-direction all day that would be more convenient and take more cars off the road

  VRE Response
  Thanks for the input Davin.

   

   

• Davin from Woodbridge, Virginia asks
  Why did you switch Train 304 to a 4-car train set on Friday and did it once before?

  VRE Response
  Good question Davin.  We made the adjustment for Fridays during our Fare Free Friday promotion because ridership on 314 was getting high enough to warrant extra capacity.

   

   

• Davin from Woodbridge, VA asks
  VRE suffered many delays in July the fault of Amtrak. They keep causing congestion at Union Station and Alexandria almost every afternoon. Can you please talk to Amtrak about this issue and tell them they to need stop?

  VRE Response
  Thanks Davin. We are working with Amtrak, CSX, and Norfolk Southern on the congestion issues throughout our network affecting the VRE reliability.

   

• Michael from Washington DC asks
  Are you sure the Amtrak times listed on https://www.vre.org/service/schedules/ are accurate? I'm getting very different results when I query Fredericksburg northbound on https://www.amtrak.com/

  VRE Response
  Thanks for the comments Michael, our schedules show Amtrak trains which had been part of the Step-up program.  We can update our online schedule for those trains as they currently run, but the schedules will all be updated when the program is brought back and the participating Amtrak trains are determined.

   

• Vonzetta from Fredericksburg, VA asks
  why do the conductors sometimes wait until after Quantico or Springfield to check tickets, giving most a free ride and other having to pay for the entire ride. I get that some days are busier than others, especially when there are delays, etc.

  VRE Response
  We have asked the conductors to not get in a set pattern for checking tickets and to check tickets at all portions of the trip to include before Quantico and after Alexandria.  The Keolis Transportation Managers will work with the crews to make sure we get as close to 100% fare inspection as possible without sacrificing the conductor's ability to perform their primary role.

   

   

• Joe from Broad Run asks
  Can you explain last Thursday's heat restrictions on the Manassas line a little more? They're a bit unusual and seemed to be a very slow speed (25mph) when announced. However, on my train (331) there did not seem to be any restrictions at all. Were they lifted? Why was the limit so low compared to F'Burg which I think are something like 45mph? Is this something we can expect more of on NS tracks or was it a one-time thing? Also, that morning I was telling a co-worker that the Manassas line doesn't have heat restrictions so I apologize to everyone for jinxing it...

  VRE Response
  Norfolk Southern put the speed restriction in place which was 25 mph max through our service area.  It does not happen very often on the NS.  The restriction was lifted at 4 pm, so some trains were not affected.

   

• Herman from Fredericksburg, VA asks
  It is increasingly difficult to track trains between the online map that is not working correctly and incorrectly reported delays. Case in point this morning. 302 was actually 12 minutes late when it arrived at Lorton, not the 5 minutes reported. Why have reporting and the online map gotten worse?

  VRE Response
  Schedules have a certain amount of padding built into them which allows for a late train to make up time. Knowing this, we will slightly under report a delay time when we know it will likely make up that time. The last thing we want to do is announce a 10 minute delay and have a passenger show up to the station 10 minutes late only to find that their train made up the time and left without them. 

• Paul from Spotsylvania va asks
  Does amtrack and also csx follow the same heat restriction that VRE has to follow

  VRE Response
  The heat related speed restrictions are put in place by the host railroads (CSX and NS) and apply to all trains on the network in the area where those restrictions are in place.  That includes all VRE, Amtrak, and freight trains.

   

   

• Victor San Nicolas from Fredericksburg va asks
  No question but I was thinking of a scan each seat where the light will turn green to ensure each rider paid for the seat. This will ensure the train will live on and improve the quality of the train

  VRE Response
  Thanks for the idea Victor, we're always looking for ways to simplify fare inspection.

   

• James Jones from Springfield VA asks
  When there are disruptions, why are VRE communications about them so consistently poor?

  VRE Response
  Thanks for the question James. We need a little more context to be able to give you a complete answer.  Our primary tool for communicating information about disruptions is Train Talk, so if you are not signed up click here.  Most Train Talks push through automatically to our social media feeds, but for service alerts your best option is Train Talk.  We also play messages at stations for those who may already be at a station waiting, and conductors make announcements onboard the trains every 10 minutes to keep everyone up to speed on what we know or what our plans may be during a disruption.

  We are always open to suggestions to help improve communications, so please reach out to us through GoTrains@vre.org with additional information.  It is always helpful if you let us know how you receive our alerts and if you are wanting more frequency, more detail (if available), or any other ideas on how to get you the information you need.

  We are working on a project to incorporate all of our alert messaging directly into the VRE Mobile app, so the information currently shared on station platforms, our website, or Train Talk will all be available on your phone.

   

• Sarah from Manassas, VA asks
  Good Morning, With the Manassas Airport trying to bring in 30 domestic flights per day, how do VRE officials plan on keep their commuters their first priority when it comes to parking? The last thing I believe any of us would want to do is pay for parking or not have enough parking at all. Thank you!

  VRE Response
  Thanks for the questions Sarah.  We do not see any issues with available parking at our Broad Run station as a result of changes at the airport, and we have no plans to charge for parking at any of the VRE lots.

   

• Dave from Manassas asks
  What is the current number of monthly tickets sold VS a comparable month in 2019.

  VRE Response
  Our customer survey report from this year reports 924 or 39% of riders purchased monthly tickets. Our customer survey report from 2019 shows 4,028 or 68% of riders purchased monthly tickets.  With higher frequency of telework, more riders are opting for the flexibility of the ten trip tickets, up to 40% this year versus 23% in 2019. Check out all the results here.

   

• Sean from Spotsylvania, VA asks
  With all of the construction, short platforms, etc it can be challenging sometimes to know which car you're in, and if you're in the right spot to detrain. MARC service has placards on the inside of the cars that denote that you're in "Car 1," "Car 2," etc and which car number is which direction from where you are. Can something similar be implemented?

  VRE Response
  We'll take a look at it Sean and see if there is a way for us to do something similar.

   

• Sam from Manassas Park, Va asks
  Hi- I've asked this before and have seen others ask on the forum also: can an announcement or train signage be made regarding bicyclists & scooter users to please NOT ride on the ramps or platforms? It happens daily at the MP station and also at L'Enfant. It's dangerous. on the platforms since a pedestrian could stop or turn - and the scooter/bicycle rider has no where to move or can't stop in time. It's also dangerous when following persons up/down the ramp. Which happens every morning at L'Enfant. Thanks

  VRE Response
  We will ask the conductors to make announcements onboard and we will play messages regarding this issue at our stations.

   

   

Good afternoon and welcome to the August edition of VRE’s Online Forum.

We hope everyone is taking advantage of the Fare Free Friday promotion to bring friends and family to DC.  Just a reminder, the final Fare Free Friday will be September 1^st.

Everyone is here to help us answer your questions, including representatives from VRE, Keolis, Amtrak, and CSX. 

Let’s get to the questions!