The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation prefers a full-service option running through the existing station at Main Street as well as the one at Staples Mill Road. (Photo by Sarah King)
Area residents expressed a mix of support for, and reservations about, the state’s preference for a high-speed rail line running through the Main Street and Staples Mill train stations at a public hearing hosted by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation on Tuesday evening at the downtown train station.
The “DC2RVA” project would introduce high-speed rail transit for passengers across the state, and Virginia residents have until Nov. 7 to submit public comments on the proposed routes and station locations.
The cost of the Richmond portion recommended by the DRPT is estimated at nearly $1.5 billion, and the total estimate for Virginia is about $5 billion, according to Chris Smith, communications and policy director for DRPT.
“What we finally have out is the first draft of the study that looks at the 123-mile high-speed rail track configuration, and station locations between Richmond and Washington for future rail capacity, for future travel options for Virginians to get off of 95,” Smith said.
The Richmond region is part of Area 6 in the DRPT’s draft Environmental Impact Statement, which lists multiple potential station locations:
- Staples Mill Road Station
- Boulevard Station
- Broad Street Station
- Main Street Station
- Staples Mill and Main Street – split service
- Staples Mill and Main Street – shared service
- Staples Mill and Main Street – full service (DRPT’s preference)
Smith said the DC2RVA study is fully funded up to $55 million — 80 percent by the Federal Rail Administration, 12.5 percent by the state and 7.5 percent by CSX Transportation. The DRPT prefers the full-service option running through both existing stations at Main Street and Staples Mill.
“In the Richmond area, the department is looking at a configuration where you would have full train service at Main Street station and Staples Mill station,” Smith said. “You get four trains a day here at Main Street station — you would be up to 36 trains under the new configuration, so a total of 18 round trips a day.”
A $90 million restoration effort at Main Street station, including the train shed, began in September 2016, and is expected to be complete this spring. There are currently no stations along Boulevard or on Broad Street.
The Staples Mill Station is in the process of an $8.3 million parking renovation, after the DRPT announced in 2016 that it was the busiest station south of D.C.’s Union Station.
Richmond resident Clay McDonald also supports high-speed rail at the Main Street station, stating during the hearing that it would be a shame to waste this “cathedral to the people that we have here.”
“We put a lot of money in here, and we'd also be able to keep the station accessible in Henrico,” McDonald said in support of the DRPT recommendation.
Residents gather at Main Street Station to weigh in on plans for high-speed rail. (Photo by Sarah King)
Most of the 13 speakers at the 30-minute public hearing Tuesday said they thought the Boulevard location would be more ideal, though.
Former Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene Trani endorsed building the Boulevard station, citing “dramatic tax revenues,” which would help Richmond Public Schools.
Mike Cline, president of the Scott’s Addition Boulevard Association, said the neighborhood board “unanimously” endorsed the location in Scott’s Addition.
Other speakers were more in favor of the Boulevard location for a different reason: the proximity of Main Street station to historic sites such as the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail/Devil's Half Acre and the African Burial Ground in Shockoe Bottom.
Ana Edwards, chairwoman of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality, said her group would be “vigilant” to make sure “this site and its resources are protected,” and would be open to partnering with DRPT to ensure this.
Edwards’ concerns stemmed from the Main Street station construction potentially extending the rail platforms to accommodate high-speed transit, or that increased parking to accommodate the station would infringe upon the African Burial Ground, which is located across the street. She clarified that she would not be opposed to the Main Street location if she could be assured otherwise.
“We'd like to be partnered,” Edwards said. “This area could mean a greater influx of people and greater attention to the site.”
Second District Councilwoman Kim Gray also endorsed the Boulevard site at the hearing, expressing similar concerns that the Main Street station construction could harm the history of Shockoe Bottom.
Image courtesy Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation
The DC2RVA transit segment is part of the Federal Rail Administration’s larger Southeast High Speed Rail corridor proposal, which would ultimately extend from Florida to Boston. The FRA funded 80 percent of the Environmental Impact Study draft published by the DRPT in September.
After the 60-day public comment period closes on Nov. 7, the governor’s statewide transportation board will take the study into consideration, as well as DRPT’s recommendation and any public comments. The state will then issue a recommendation to the FRA.
“The [FRA] will take it all and ultimately [issue] a Record of Decision, which will be the final document that says, ‘This is exactly where we can build this 123-mile rail; this is exactly where the stations should go’ — that makes it eligible for federal funding,” Smith said. “So all of this is the study process that takes us to the next big step. We have to get that plan in place before we can start funding it.”
There is no breakdown yet on the total cost — or who would foot the bill — of DC2RVA construction beyond the study phase, Smith said.
"DRPT recognizes that to construct a project of this nature Virginia would need significant federal and possibly private support," Smith said in a follow-up email. "The purpose of DRPT conducting this study with the FRA under federal NEPA guidelines is that once the FRA issues the Record of Decision (ROD) on the study, [the] project itself then becomes eligible for federal assistance."
The final Environmental Impact Statement report from the FRA should be in place by 2018 or early 2019, Smith said, and assuming DRPT could secure the necessary funding, expanded rail service could begin as early as 2025.
The FRA issued the final recommendation for the Richmond to Raleigh, North Carolina, segment of the larger Southeast high-speed rail corridor earlier this year. DRPT has also secured state and federal funding to begin construction of the rail enhancements in Areas 1 and 2 in Northern Virginia.
Tuesday’s public hearing was the first of five in Virginia this week. The DRPT will host events in Ashland on Wednesday, Fredericksburg on Thursday and Quantico on Friday. The draft EIS is available at www.dc2rvarail.com/draft. Citizens can submit formal comments at the events this week, or online by Nov. 7.
