Washington District | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Active | |||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Norfolk Southern | |||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Virginia | |||||||||||||||||||
Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Freight rail, Inter-city rail | |||||||||||||||||||
System | NS | |||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Norfolk Southern, Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria and Lynchburg. Most of the line was built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, while a small portion in the center opened in 1880 as the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad. Today, the line is mainly used for freight service, but Amtrak's Crescent, Cardinal and Northeast Regional passenger services use all or part of the line, and the Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line commuter service uses the northernmost portion of the line.
The line begins at the CR Tower signal, where lines from the NS Van Dorn Yard meet with the Horn Track, connecting to the CSX RF&P Subdivision in Alexandria, where it splits from the CSX Transportation RF&P Subdivision. It connects to the B-Line in Manassas (milepost 32.6) at the Powell Signal (33.8) [1] At Orange (84.7), the Buckingham Branch Railroad's Washington Subdivision splits and forms a loop that rejoins the Washington District at Charlottesville (112.2). It crosses the CSX James River Subdivision, and then ends at Lynchburg (172.5), becoming the NS Danville District. [2]
The line crosses the Rappahannock, Rapidan, South Fork Rivanna, Tye, and James Rivers. The Rivermont Tunnel is next to the James River crossing. [3]
The line was originally constructed by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. The portion north of Orange was constructed from 1850 to 1854. [4] [5] The extension south to Lynchburg was completed in 1860, with a short section in between that was part of the Virginia Central Railroad. [4]
After the Civil War, the company came under the control of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. By 1881, several mergers had made it part of the Virginia Midland Railway, which in 1886 was leased to the Richmond and Danville Railroad. [4] Both were merged into the Southern Railway in 1894, [6] forming part of its main line. [3]
The Southern Railway later acquired the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad, which had opened in 1880, [7] bypassing the former Virginia Central Railroad segment (which is now the Buckingham Branch Railroad's Washington Subdivision). The Southern Railway merged into Norfolk Southern in 1982. [4]
Part of Norfolk Southern's Piedmont Division, the line is mainly used for freight service. Major customers include a Cargill grain elevator in Culpeper (milepost 67.4). A former customer, the Pepco Generating Facility, closed in 2012. Other customers include Robinson Terminal in Springfield; Vulcan Rock Facility in Springfield; Washington Gas in Springfield; Virginia Paving in Alexandria; NS Ethanol Transflow Facility in Alexandria; and Vulcan Rock Quarry in Casanova (Casanova Branch). [3]
Amtrak uses the line for various trains. Its Crescent uses the entire line as part of its New York City-to-New Orleans service. The Cardinal uses the portion from Alexandria to Orange as part of its New York-to-Chicago service. Since 2009, its Northeast Regional service uses the portion of the line from Lynchburg to Washington. [3]
The Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line uses the northernmost portion of the line from Alexandria to the Broad Run station just past Manassas. [8] As of June 2024 [update] , the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is negotiating with Norfolk Southern to purchase the portion of the line between Broad Run and Alexandria. [9]
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.
The Crescent is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and New Orleans. The 1,377-mile (2,216 km) route connects the Northeast to the Gulf Coast via the Appalachian Piedmont, with major stops in Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Birmingham, Alabama.
The Cardinal is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York Penn Station and Chicago Union Station via Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Charleston, Huntington, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Along with the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited, it is one of three trains linking the Northeast and Chicago. The 1,146-mile (1,844 km) trip between New York and Chicago is scheduled for 281⁄4 hours.
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 and Macon, Georgia; Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Birmingham, Alabama.
The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway is a Class II regional railroad that provides freight service, mainly in the areas of Northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. It took its name from the former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, most of which it bought from the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1990.
Buckingham Branch Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad operating over 275 miles (443 km) of historic and strategic trackage in Central Virginia. Sharing overhead traffic with CSX and Amtrak, the company's headquarters are in Dillwyn, Virginia in the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) station, itself a historic landmark in the community.
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.
Buildings, sites, districts, and objects in Virginia listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
The Washington to Atlanta Main Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway that runs through the southeastern United States.
The Washington Subdivision is a railroad line in Virginia owned by CSX Transportation and leased and operated by the Buckingham Branch Railroad.
The Manassas Gap Railroad (MGRR) ran from Mount Jackson, Virginia, to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad's Manassas Junction, which later became the city of Manassas, Virginia. Chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1850, the MGRR was a 4 ft 8 in narrow gauge line whose 90 completed miles of track included 38 miles (61 km) of 60 pounds-per-yard T-rail and 52 miles (84 km) of 52 pounds-per-yard T-rail. A total of nine locomotives and 232 cars were operated on the line, serving 20 stations.
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 Rapidan Passenger Depot is located at the junction of VA 614, VA 615, and VA 673 in Rapidan, Virginia, United States.
The Alexandria Extension is a short rail line in Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland. Its northern portion connects the Capital Subdivision to the RF&P Subdivision, allowing freight trains to avoid Downtown Washington. Its southern portion, the Shepherd Industrial Spur, extends south to Shepherds Landing, directly across the Potomac River from Alexandria, Virginia; service on this portion ended in 2001.
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.
The Princeton–Deepwater District is a rail line in West Virginia that connects Deep Water, West Virginia, on the Kanawha River southwards to Princeton, West Virginia, and beyond to rail lines leading to Virginia. It is known for its rugged terrain and opportunities for rail photography.