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Service will commence Monday Dec 17 as an extension of Regional 174.
I'm certain there is an inaugural run departing at people hours prior to that date for the "dignitaries".
Departure from NFK is 450A.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Might have to do Norfolk as part of a circle tour....... arrive by train in Norfolk and then depart via connecting bus to the Amtrak station in Newport News. Can't see getting up for a 4:50am weekday departure.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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If I recall from the railroad atlas, to get to Norfolk, your would need to take the train to Petersburg, then branch off to the southeast on a line which has not previously been used by AMTRAK. Is this correct? Will there be any other stops between Richmond/Petersburg and Norfolk? As soon as the schedule is publshed (January, I believe), I will do a railroad map & guide of this new route for eventual inclusion in my web site.
To my knowledge, there is no direct rail connection between Newport News and Norfolk -- not even a commuter/light rail tunnel/bridge, even though the 2 cities are directly across Hampton Roads from each other, are there?
Although I, of course, am always happy to see new AMTRAK routes, in this case, it probably would have been much more economically feasible to offer an AMTRAK Thruway connecting bus from Newport News to Norfolk.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Lest we forget The Mountaineer 1974-1977.
Lest we also forget that Virginia is not only for lovers but also for trains. Considering that ALL new services added during the Obama years have been in Virginia, what else can be concluded?
All told, I agree with Rich on this one; the existing Ambus from Virginia Beach and Norfolk to Newport News would appear perfectly adequate, however Virginia wanted to fund it - so Amtrak runs it.
Kind of strange for a state that darned near went for Romney - and where in central Virginia I saw first hand during September the proliferation of "NO-bama" signage and TV ads bantering about.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Should this current trend in Virginia continue, I would not be surprised to see movement on extending the Lynchburg train over the mountain to Roanoke..... or perhaps even an additional train to Lynchburg then extending to Roanoke and perhaps even Bristol.
GBN - I would suggest that with Northern Virginia so heavily populated and with the relative success of the VRE commuter trains, a growing percentage of Virginia's population now accepts passenger trains as a viable transportation solution rather than a political distraction.
I do agree that going into downtown Norfolk would not have happened were Amtrak left to it's own devices here!
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