Union Station in Washington, D.C., is a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. (Photo via Getty images)
For our family, train travel has been mind-freeing and memory-making – as in our 1980 overnight Amtrak trip to Florida, 10 years after the passenger-rail corporation’s founding. We laughed ourselves silly as we played charades in our two “couchettes,” which joined to form a four-bed room for overnight. The return trip proved mindlessly educational for our children, who had never thought of a train stopping for sand on the tracks.
Long grown, they still remember the train jolting to a sudden halt in the middle of the night, with conductors holding lanterns and brooms stepping down to the railbed and sweeping potentially hazardous sand away from the rails. When we returned to Richmond, having visited Disney World, Tom (my late husband) and I asked the children what their favorite part of the trip was. Their response wasn’t “Mickey” or “Epcot” but, enthusiastically, “The train trip!”
On and off the Track in Virginia
Great memories aside, serious gaps have existed in Amtrak’s system for years. Until 2012, for example, passengers to Hampton Roads could go no farther east than Newport News by rail. Our family in 1990 met a 16-year-old from the Netherlands assembling his bicycle at a Virginia Beach youth hostel; he had traveled by bus to the beach from the train’s Newport News station. All travelers to Norfolk and Virginia Beach had to use alternate transportation upon reaching the literal “end of the line.” (This was unheard of in Europe because of its long history of commitment to rail travel.)
Travelers got relief in 2012 when an Amtrak station went up near the Harbor Park baseball stadium in downtown Norfolk. Since then, visitors have found it easy to navigate from the station to get on either the Tide Light Rail or the Hampton Roads Bus Transportation system.
More improvements are coming to Amtrak’s routing system in Virginia. This spring, Roanoke will be getting a second morning and evening arrival/departure train — “so necessary for Virginia Tech students and Blacksburg residents without cars,” says Catharine Fox, vice president of destination development for Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Further expansions by 2025 are proposed to benefit the New River Valley and Christiansburg areas. Still needed is a Richmond-Roanoke passenger rail connection.
Bargain Bookings
Though I can’t take Amtrak from Richmond to Roanoke, I can take it (the Northeast Regional) from Richmond to Alexandria or D.C.’s Union Station to go shopping in Georgetown or see the sites around Washington. Union Station is a short walk from the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian museums, the Washington Monument and other landmarks along the Mall.
Through April, Virginia residents can book trips with a 15% discount on fares in the commonwealth and to Washington, D.C. The discount may be applied to regular adult, senior and child rail fares; reservations must be booked at least 14 days prior to travel, and some date restrictions apply.
Based on my experience with amtrak.com/Virginia at the beginning of the promotion in late November, the patience of Job is necessary to get the online discount. I ended up requesting the help of an agent, who acknowledged that a lot of folks had the same problem and couldn’t get the online discount when the system crashes under so much demand, and they have agents book their trips. (Only one child, aged 2-12, can accompany each adult at half the discounted adult rail fare.)
It pays to book ASAP. I’ve personally experienced the phrase, “Fares are subject to availability,” when fewer seats were left and the price went up. Also, blackouts apply to certain dates. The discount applies only to coach seats, not business class — and the high-speed Acela has a separate fare schedule (with other discounts available for Keystone Service, Pennsylvanian Saver fares and U.S. Western trains).
If this seems dense and stressful, consider the perks, including traveling with four bags for free, plus Wi-Fi and power outlets at every seat to help travelers stay connected as they seek to connect to their destinations.
Sample Fares
Ready to ride? Here’s a sampling of round-trip fares for a long weekend trip from Richmond. Fares are for an adult for nonrefundable coach seating, checked in late November for travel on Friday, March 4, with a return to Richmond on Monday, March 8. See amtrak.com for more details.
Alexandria: $38
Norfolk: $38
Washington Union Station: $44
