Alexandria, VA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 110 Callahan Drive Alexandria, Virginia United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 38°48′23″N77°03′44″W / 38.80639°N 77.06222°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | City of Alexandria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operated by | Amtrak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | CSX RF&P Subdivision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform, 1 island platform | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections |
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Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | Amtrak: ALX | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 2 (VREX) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1905 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FY 2023 | 308,013 [1] (Amtrak) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Designated | February 27, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reference no. | 13000044 [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Designated | December 13, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reference no. | 100-0124 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alexandria Union Station is a historic railroad station in Alexandria, Virginia, south of Washington, D.C. To avoid confusion with nearby Washington Union Station, the station is often referred to as simply Alexandria. [3] Its Amtrak code is ALX. [4]
The station is located on Callahan Drive in the Old Town section of the city. It is served by both Amtrak intercity and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail lines. The station serves as an alternative stop for Amtrak riders traveling through the Washington area, analogous to the role Newark Penn Station plays in the New York area.
It is located directly across the tracks from the King Street–Old Town station of the Washington Metro. Since the opening of the Metro station in 1983, the city has touted the station as an intermodal hub for regional mass transit, linking Amtrak, VRE, and Metro with a number of Alexandria DASH and Metrobus lines. [5] The Virginia Department of Transportation and Northern Virginia Transportation Authority have plans to build a pedestrian tunnel between Union Station and King Street-Old Town; presently, those transferring from Amtrak to Metro must walk about 600 feet (180 m) along King Street. [6]
The original passenger terminal, a one-story brick building completed in 1905, is still in use. Unlike most stations from the era, it was built in the Federal Revival style. The station was extensively renovated in 1982, with further improvements in the mid-1990s. The stone and concrete Veterans of Foreign Wars memorial was constructed at the station in 1940. [7]
In the late 1840s, the city of Alexandria invested in at least five major railroad projects to link the city with other commercial centers in what proved to be the forlorn hope of competing with Baltimore as a regional industrial and trade center. The numerous competing lines resulted in a mishmash of rails and yards running through the city amidst various railroad mergers and failures. [7]
In 1901, the railroads serving the region, led by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, formed the Richmond-Washington Company to manage traffic between Richmond and Washington and build a consolidated railyard, Potomac Yard. The company's plans included construction of a new passenger terminal west of the city, in what was then part of Arlington County —Alexandria did not annex the land until 1915. [7]
Alexandria Union Station was opened on September 15, 1905, and served passenger trains of the C&O, Washington Southern Railway, Southern Railway and Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad until 1971, when ownership of the station building was assumed by Amtrak, while C&O (now CSX Transportation) bought the tracks. [7] The City of Alexandria took ownership of the station in 2001. [8]
Since the 1970s, Union Station has been the focus of Amtrak's regional services into Virginia. In 1976, Amtrak began running the Colonial from Washington through Alexandria to Newport News. It continues today as a Northeast Regional run.
On October 1, 2009, Amtrak began running two Northeast Regionals to and from Lynchburg, making stops in the state that include Union Station. [9] This was followed by an additional extension to Richmond in 2009, Norfolk in 2012 and Roanoke in 2017.
The Northeast Regional is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the NortheastDirect, Acela Regional, or Regional. It is Amtrak's busiest route, carrying 9,163,082 passengers in fiscal year (FY) 2023. The Northeast Regional service received more than $787.7 million in gross ticket revenue in FY 2023.
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from Spotsylvania, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run station in Bristow, Virginia. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,537,000, or about 6,700 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North America's 10th-busiest railroad station. The station is the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor, an electrified rail line extending north through major cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, and the busiest passenger rail line in the nation. In 2015, it served just under five million passengers.
The Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) is a commuter rail system in the Washington–Baltimore area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated under contract by Alstom and Amtrak on track owned by CSX Transportation (CSXT) and Amtrak. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,860,600, or about 14,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024, less than pre-COVID-19 pandemic weekday ridership of 40,000.
Franconia–Springfield station is a Washington Metro rapid transit station and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station located in Springfield, Virginia, United States. The station is the southwestern terminus of the Metro Blue Line and an intermediate station on the VRE Fredericksburg Line. It is also a major bus terminal for Fairfax Connector buses, plus other local and intercity bus routes. The station has one island-platform serving the two Metro tracks, plus two side platforms serving the RF&P Subdivision on which the Fredericksburg Line runs.
L'Enfant Plaza station is an intermodal transit station complex located at L'Enfant Plaza in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It consists of an underground Washington Metro rapid transit station and an elevated Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station.
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad company.
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&A) was a railroad in Virginia, United States. Chartered in 1848, it eventually extended from Alexandria to Gordonsville, with another section from Charlottesville to Lynchburg. The road played a crucial role in the American Civil War, saw the first of many mergers in 1867, and eventually became an important part of the modern-day Norfolk Southern rail system.
The Southeast Corridor (SEC) is a proposed passenger rail transportation project in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States to extend high-speed passenger rail services from the current southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor in Washington, D.C.. Routes would extend south via Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, with a spur to Norfolk in Virginia's Hampton Roads region; the mainline would continue south to Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the corridor was first established in 1992, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has extended it further to Atlanta, Georgia and Macon, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Birmingham, Alabama.
Richmond Main Street Station, officially the Main Street Station and Trainshed, is a historic railroad station and office building in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1901, and is served by Amtrak. It is also an intermodal station with Richmond's city transit bus services, which are performed by Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC). The station is colloquially known by residents as The Clock Tower. It was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and in 1976 was made a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Main Street Station serves as a secondary train station for Richmond providing limited Amtrak service directly to downtown Richmond. Several Amtrak trains serving the Richmond metropolitan area only stop at the area's primary rail station, Staples Mill Road which is located five miles to the north in Henrico County.
Transportation in the Commonwealth of Virginia is by land, sea and air. Virginia's extensive network of highways and railroads were developed and built over a period almost 400 years, beginning almost immediately after the founding of Jamestown in 1607, and often incorporating old established trails of the Native Americans.
Woodbridge station is a train station in Woodbridge, Virginia. It serves Amtrak's Northeast Regional line and Virginia Railway Express's Fredericksburg Line. Woodbridge's Rippon station is also served by VRE. Woodbridge station is located at 1040 Express Way, on the opposite side of the tracks of the Jefferson Davis Highway.
Quantico station is a train station in Quantico, Virginia, served by two Amtrak trains and the Virginia Railway Express's Fredericksburg Line. The existing station house was originally built by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1953. It is located at 550 Railroad Avenue at Potomac Avenue and is surrounded by the Quantico Marine Base.
Fredericksburg station is a passenger rail station in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is served by Amtrak's Carolinian, Northeast Regional, and Silver Meteor trains, and the Virginia Railway Express's Fredericksburg Line. The station has two side platforms serving the two elevated tracks of the RF&P Subdivision. It is located on Lafayette Boulevard at the south end of the downtown area.
The Fredericksburg Line is a commuter rail service operated by Virginia Railway Express between Washington, D.C., and Olive, Virginia. Virginia Railway Express operates 8 weekday trains, and Amtrak trains serve a few of the stations on the line. Trackage is owned by CSX as part of their RF&P Subdivision.
The Manassas Line is a Virginia Railway Express commuter rail service that extends from Washington, D.C. to Bristow, Virginia. The first of VRE's two lines, with service beginning on June 22, 1992, the line operates on tracks owned by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway.
The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line operated by CSX Transportation and jointly owned by CSX and Virginia. It runs from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The line's name pays homage to that railroad, which was a predecessor to the CSX.
Long Bridge is the common name used for three successive bridges connecting Washington, D.C., to Arlington, Virginia, over the Potomac River. The first was built in 1808 for foot, horse and stagecoach traffic, and bridges in the vicinity were repaired and replaced several times in the 19th century. The current bridge was built in 1904 and substantially modified in 1942. It has only been used for railroad traffic and is owned by CSX Transportation.
The Northern Virginia region is served by numerous mediums of transit. Transportation in the region is overseen by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Amtrak Virginia is the collective name for Virginia's state-supported Amtrak train service, all of which falls under the Northeast Regional brand. Amtrak Virginia trains run between Washington, D.C., and one of four southern termini: Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk, or Roanoke. Trains generally continue north from D.C. along the Northeast Corridor, providing one-seat rides from Virginia to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.
Media related to Union Station (Alexandria, Virginia) at Wikimedia Commons