- Full Fare Charts
- Reduced Fare Charts
- Types of Tickets
- Buying VRE Tickets
- Validate Your Ticket
- Ticket Refunds/Exchanges
Validation:
- Single-Ride and Ten-Ride tickets must be validated before boarding trains.
- 31-Day, Seven-Day and Day Passes must be validated at the time of first ride.
- Monthly Ticket holders must validate their tickets by printing their name on the back of the ticket.
31-Day Pass
- Available on VRE Mobile release 3.13 and greater. Any unused Monthly Tickets on VRE Mobile will carry over to release 3.13.
- 34% discount off single ride fare
- Good for unlimited travel for a period of 31-days from the date of activation between the zones indicated
- Accepted on select Amtrak trains with a Step-Up Ticket
- No grace period
- Available for purchase and activation any day of the month
Monthly Ticket
- Available for paper tickets only starting in January 2020
- Good for unlimited travel between fare zones indicated on the ticket during a calendar month
- 34% discount off single ride fare
- Valid for one calendar month
- Non-transferable
- Refundable 100% prior to start of month, partially refundable after month begins; not refundable after 13th of the month
- If lost on a train, VRE will replace a Monthly ticket up to two times each year with proof of purchase 2 days after the passenger files a lost ticket report (during those 2 days, passengers are responsible for boarding the train with a valid ticket. A ticket receipt does not qualify as a valid ticket) – see policy for details
- Accepted on select Amtrak trains with a Step-Up Ticket
- Grace period for VRE ticket through the first service day of the following month
- Available for purchase through the 9th of the current month (For example: July Monthly tickets are available for purchase from June 10 through July 9, Mobile Monthly tickets, however, are available for purchase from the 23rd of the month to the 9th of month).
Ten-Ride Ticket
- 8% Savings. Good for ten one-way trips between the fare zones indicated on the ticket.
- 8% discount off single ride fare
- Valid for ten-rides
- Transferable; nonrefundable; multiple persons may use one ticket as long as there is a validation for each person
- Must be validated at Ticket Vending Machines no more than one hour prior to each ride
- Accepted on select Amtrak trains
- Expires one year from purchase
Seven-Day Pass
- Good for unlimited travel for seven consecutive calendar days from activation within the zones indicated
- 20% discount off single ride fare
- Must be validated prior to first boarding
- Transferable; nonrefundable
- Accepted on select Amtrak trains
- If not activated, expires one year from purchase
- Available on VRE Mobile release 3.13 and greater
- Available for paper tickets starting in December 2019. Can be purchased at the platform ticket machines and all VRE vendors
Day Pass
- Good for one calendar day of round-trip travel between the fares zones indicated on the ticket.
- Expires one year from purchase
- Transferable, but nonrefundable
- Can be purchased at the platform ticket machines and all VRE vendors
- bullet point arrow Must be validated once at Ticket Vending Machines no more than one hour prior to the AM trip
- NOT accepted on Amtrak trains
Single Ride Ticket
- Good for one-way travel between the fares zones indicated on the ticket.
- Expires one year from purchase
- Transferable, but nonrefundable
- Can be purchased at the platform ticket machines and all VRE vendors
- Must be validated at Ticket Vending Machines no more than one hour prior to each ride
- NOT accepted on Amtrak trains
Amtrak Step-Up Ticket (Step-Up tickets are currently discontinued until further notice)
- Must be used in conjunction with multi-ride VRE tickets for one-way travel on our Amtrak Cross-Honor Service trains. Step-Up Tickets are available at TVMs and in bulk from all VRE vendors.
- NO validation required.
- Collected by Amtrak conductor when VRE ticket is checked for validation.
- Expires one year from purchase.
- Transferable; nonrefundable; only one rider per ticket.
- VRE multi-ride ticket must cover the zones that you are travelling between.
- For additional details on Step Up tickets, check out our Step-Up page.
VRE-TLC (Transit Link Card)
- Joint-use fare card allows unlimited travel on VRE and Metrorail for one calendar month. TLC tickets are available from all Arlington Commuter stores, Franconia/Springfield Connector store, and on-line from CommuterDirect.com.
- 34% discount off single ride fare plus Metro Ride Monthly Cost
- Valid for one calendar month
- Non-transferable
- Refundable 100% prior to start of month, partially refundable after month begins; Metro portion non-refundable
- Accepted on select Amtrak trains
- Grace period for VRE through the first service day on the following month
- For additional details on TLCs, check out our TLC page.
Reduced Fare Tickets
VRE offers discounted tickets for persons with disabilities, senior citizens and youths (ages 11 to 18).
- 50% Savings off the cost of a single-ride ticket
- May be purchased at vendor locations or through VRE Mobile.
Select one of the following for eligibility requirements:
Children's Fares
Children ten and under may ride for free when traveling with a fare paying adult.
Buying VRE Tickets
VRE Mobile
Now you can buy and use VRE tickets and passes instantly on your smartphone – anytime, anywhere! Download from the Google Play or iTunes App Store today!
- No paper tickets to keep track of
- No need to stop at a vendor location or ticket vending machine
- Split payment between two cards, or a card and SmartBenefits
- Purchase tickets at your convenience, then just validate before boarding the train
- Must have VRE Mobile app on your smartphone in order to validate tickets
Order Tickets From Commuter Direct
Fill out Commuter Direct's Online Order Form and have your tickets mailed to your home or business on either an ongoing biweekly or monthly basis. Credit Card information is safe because the Commuter Page uses a secure third-party vendor to encrypt the information before it is passed on for processing by CommuterDirect.com in Arlington. Give it a try!!!
Station Vending Machines
Use Your Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or STAR bank card at the ticket vending machines at all stations. Please Note: The ticket vending machines at the stations do not accept cash.
Sales Outlets
Selected sales outlets sell tickets near stations. Some locations also accept credit cards, debit cards and checks. For information on sales outlets in your area, visit our vendor locations page or call 703-684-1001.
From Your Employer
Many firms and agencies can help you obtain your train tickets at big savings. If they are not familiar with SmartBenefits, encourage your benefits coordinator or human resources director to call 202-962-1326 to find out more about this transit voucher program which can save both the employer and the employee MONEY!
Validate Your Ticket
Please remember to validate your Ten-Trip or Single-Ride tickets at the TVM every time before boarding trains. Tickets are not sold on board VRE trains. Virginia law (section 18.2-160.1) requires passengers to purchase and validate tickets before boarding VRE trains. Before each boarding, Single-Ride and Ten-Trip tickets must be validated at the ticket vending machines in station entrance areas. Monthly passes must be legibly signed or have your name printed on the back to be valid. Any passenger that is unable to validate their ticket by use of the validation machine must speak with the conductor prior to boarding the train. Passengers observed onboard without a valid ticket are subject to a fine of not less than $100.
Ticket Refunds
*IMPORTANT: Tickets purchased with Transit Benefits are NOT eligible for refunds.*
- Monthly Tickets are refundable with proof of purchase and under the following conditions:
- If you request a refund before the effective month begins, we will refund your purchase 100%
- If your request is made during service days 1-13 of the effective month, you will receive the Monthly Ticket purchase price minus two Single-ride full fares applicable to the origin and destination zone pairing for each service day operated prior to the post mark on the returned ticket.
- No refunds for Monthly Tickets past the 13th service day will be granted.
- TLC Tickets are refunded at 100% prior to the first of the month. After the 1st, NO CREDIT can be given for the Metrorail portion of the fare.
- 31-Day, Ten-Trip, Seven-Day, Round-Trip, Step-Up and Single-Ride Tickets are nonrefundable. However, in some cases, we can make exchanges.
- Amtrak Step-Up tickets (valid or expired) CANNOT be exchanged.
- All tickets expire one year from the date of purchase. Once a ticket expires, it CANNOT be exchanged (this includes Free Ride Certificates).
- Non-expired tickets will be considered for an exchange on a case by case basis. No refunds will be given for exchanges that result in a lower priced ticket.
- Tickets can only be exchanged one time. All new tickets from an exchange must be used within one year. Those tickets that have been exchanged CANNOT be exchanged again.
Please include the Ticket Exchange Form along with your exchange request.
Monthly and TLC tickets may be refundable. Please include the Refund Request Form along with your refund request.
Virginia Railway Express
1500 King Street, Suite 202
Alexandria, Virginia 22314