VRE Opens New Spotsylvania Station

November 16, 2015

More than 500 passengers boarded Virginia Railway Express (VRE) trains Monday in Spotsylvania County, as the commuter rail provider inaugurated service south of Fredericksburg. Coffee, donuts and commemorative tickets were available to VRE riders before the first train left the new station at 4:57 a.m.

Located southwest of US 17 and Crossroads Parkway, the Spotsylvania Station becomes the southern terminus for VRE train service on the Fredericksburg Line and represents the first extension of VRE service since it began operations in 1992. The station consists of a 1,500 space parking lot, a waiting area with bathroom facilities, and a 700-foot platform with canopy.

Several NVTC Commissioners – including Sharon Bulova, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; John Cook, Fairfax County Supervisor; and Jennifer Mitchell, Director of the Commonwealth’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation – were on hand for the station ribbon cutting. The three Commissioners are members of the VRE Operations Board, which Cook chairs. NVTC co-owns VRE along with the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission.

Cook, who served as master of ceremonies for the ribbon cutting, credited a spirit of cooperation, present among all agencies and individuals involved, with project’s success. “The opening of this station is symbolic of the collaboration and cooperation that were hallmarks of the process,” he said.

VRE will open another new station in 2017 south of Woodbridge. The Potomac Shores Station will overlook the Potomac River from atop a hilly bluff facing a riverfront boardwalk and will bring new economic growth to Prince William County. VRE also is exploring an 11-mile extension of its Manassas Line through Gainesville to the general vicinity of Route 15 near Haymarket.