VRE slates meeting on Gainesville-Haymarket Extension

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) will host a public meeting tonight to solicit comments on final draft alternatives for the Gainesville-Haymarket Extension (GHX) study.

The alternatives represent the most viable options to expand the VRE Manassas Line service, according to a VRE press release. Tonight's meeting will be held in Bristow, Va.

In July 2015, VRE began studying a range of alternatives for an 11-mile extension of the VRE commuter-rail service to Gainesville and Haymarket along the Manassas Line. The alternatives under review include an extension along the Norfolk Southern Railway B-Line, as well as relocating the existing Broad Run station to a new location near Godwin Drive in Manassas.

The study is being conducted in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Prince William County, NS and other stakeholders. It builds on information gained from other studies within the GHX and Interstate 66 corridors.

The study team is investigating possible station locations and service plans, in addition to identifying track improvements to support VRE service. Included in the analysis are preliminary engineering, design work and an assessment of potential environmental impacts.

All alternatives under consideration would increase the frequency of VRE service from every 30 minutes in the mornings and evenings to every 20 minutes.