Virginia commissions approve $155 million Manassas rail line agreement

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury
March 7, 2025

Owners of the commuter rail system Virginia Railway Express on Thursday signed off on a five-year, $155 million agreement to purchase the Manassas Line, allowing the system to enhance service reliability and provide control over stations and schedules between Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia. 

The Manassas Line originates at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and goes to Broad Run in Prince William County.

The move will give the rail system ownership of Seminary Yard in Alexandria, allowing the system to enhance the existing freight rail yard and construct a midday storage facility. The ownership rights will also give VRE the Broad Run Corridor from Alexandria to Broad Run, the permanent easement to five station platforms and the permanent commuter rail operating easement along the Manassas Line.

On Thursday night, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock River Transportation Commission, co-partners of VRE, officially voted at separate meetings to authorize the VRE chief executive officer to execute a funding agreement with the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA).

The agreement is part of VRE’s System Plan 2050 designed to help officials address the public’s changing travel patterns, including those of commuting office workers, which have shifted over the past decade. The plan is also focused on maximizing daily riders and expanding daily service offering non-peak and weekend service.

“This is a long-term investment towards the future,” said NVTC Vice Chair Sarah Bagley at the meeting. She also serves as chair of the VRE Operations Board.

The decision by the governing bodies comes after VPRA and Norfolk Southern Railway Company agreed to purchase the Manassas Line last summer. In its Manassas Line Funding Agreement with VPRA, VRE committed to a multi-year funding schedule in exchange for four railroad property interests along the Manassas Line.

The groups said the properties are “critical” to VRE’s current and future commuter rail operations.

The agreement does not identify the specific source or sources of funds for each scheduled payment. However, the deal does provide a general framework for the funding commitment. 

Under the agreement, VRE is committing to contributing $155 million to VRPA in six approximately equal payments. The final payment is expected to be on July 10, 2029. 

The NVTC board discussed that while the agreement appears to be an added cost, investing in acquiring the railroad properties will create savings by cutting back on the rising costs of storing rail cars and leasing the Manassas Line. 

VRE Chief Financial Officer Mark Schofield said on Thursday having its storage yard could also allow the system to enable other operators to store their railcars.

“The property acquisition piece of this was not something that we had maybe contemplated a couple of years ago, but we are making a very positive trade in terms of the cost of the midday storage yard,” Schofield said on Thursday.

Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw added, “We can’t just pick up the railcars and move them to some other track. We’re captured (and) that’s always a challenging negotiation.”

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

The post Virginia commissions approve $155 million Manassas rail line agreement appeared first on virginiamercury.com