With the arrival of high-speed rail service, Ashland's train station and platforms would have to be expanded and improved. (Photo by Ashley Luck)
As plans for high-speed rail between Washington, D.C., and Richmond move forward, some residents in Hanover County and the town of Ashland remain wary about the impact on their community. Recognizing their concerns, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) is holding a series of six public meetings through October.
At the next meeting, set for July 24 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Randolph-Macon College’s Birdsong Hall, residents will have a chance to ask questions and offer input to the DRPT’s Community Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from the town of Ashland, CSX Transportation, Hanover County, Randolph-Macon and the Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization.
The 123-mile Washington-to-Richmond corridor is the northern segment of the planned Southeast Corridor, a high-speed rail line linking Washington to Florida. Rail officials say the project will shorten travel time and reduce congestion on Interstate 95.
Among the alternatives under consideration for the Ashland/Hanover section, one would add a third track through Ashland besides the existing tracks, a second calls for a two-track bypass to the west of Ashland and a third that would not add tracks, but would improve crossings, signals and safety features. DRPT is preparing to do an environmental impact statement to assess the impact of each option. The department is also evaluating bypass options east of Ashland, including the Buckingham Branch, although a draft environmental impact statement showed "greater potential impacts to existing infrastructure, land use and cultural and natural resources compared to a bypass west of Ashland." With all of the alternatives, the Ashland train station and platforms would have to be expanded and improved.
Local residents interviewed for this article expressed mixed views about the plans for high-speed rail (HSR).
“I'm in between. I am for it, but I am not looking forward to people driving who don't already follow traffic laws, especially when it comes to railway crossings,” says Samantha Packard, a former Hanover resident who now lives in Chesterfield County. “So many cars have already been hit in Ashland because they don't know or care about the traffic laws. I can see it being good and bad for traffic, good for travelers and bad for some drivers.”
In the town of Ashland, some businesses have posted "No Third Rail" signs, including the Iron Horse Restaurant. (Photo by Ashley Luck)
While acknowledging the benefit for Richmond-to-D.C. commuters and travelers, Hanover resident Kimberly Weis worries that the project could be devastating to small businesses in Ashland during the construction phase.
“I am sure traffic would need to be detoured during construction, and even a few months of that can disrupt business cash flow, which can be detrimental to a small business owner,” Weis says.
During the summer months, when I-95 congestion is at a peak, Weis adds, “motorists overflow onto [U.S.] 301 and [U.S.] 1, trying to avoid what I refer to as the ‘parking lot of 95.’ I do not believe that vacationers would opt to use the HSR as part of their vacation travel plans.”
Danny Plaugher, executive director of the nonprofit Virginians for High Speed Rail, urges local residents to consider the advantages of reduced travel time, as well as worsening congestion.
“We're envisioning at least 16 additional trains between New York and Richmond with a travel time of around four hours. If Virginia already had HSR last year, the commonwealth’s rail travelers would have saved over 823,000 hours worth of time,” he says.
“People should support improved passenger rail because in 2045, on I-95, there will be an additional 1.4 million drivers and traffic will be about 34 percent worse that it is today,” Plaugher adds. “The Washington-Richmond-Hampton Roads corridor is already severely congested, so imagine what it's going to look like with a third more traffic. It would be non-stop gridlock.”
He acknowledges residents’ concerns, but says, “The driving principal has always been how do you do the most with the least impact, and that has never changed, which is why I have to commend the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation for taking a pro-active approach and launching these Ashland/Hanover public meetings to help gather community input and further educate the public.”
A DRPT map shows several bypass options for high-speed rail in the Ashland area.
