VRE Offers New Plans to Ease Overcrowding

The Virginia Railway Express announced it would be making several changes to help alleviate overcrowding on commuter trains. CEO Dale Zehner said the Board of Operations approved his recommendation to subsidize the cost of Step-Up tickets.

Currently, VRE riders must pay $10 for Step-Up tickets which when used in conjunction with selected VRE passes (monthly, weekly, 10-ride, and TLC) allows them to ride any Amtrak train listed on the VRE schedule. The VRE subsidy will cut the price of the Step-Up ticket in half. Starting May 2, each ticket will only cost commuters $5.

Commuters who have already purchased Step-Up tickets will be able to trade them in for two $5 tickets. Further details about an exchange program were not made available.

The change will help to alleviate congestion on both Fredericksburg and Manassas lines. In a press release, Zehner suggested that some riders on the Manassas line who take the often-crowded 329, which leaves Union Station at 4:25 p.m. and makes a stop in Manassas Park, might consider waiting for the 171 Amtrak. Even though it leaves Union Station nearly a half hour later at 4:50 p.m., it will offer “less crowding, has more legroom and a cafe car.”

This month, VRE saw the highest ridership in its history. On March 15, there were 20,573 rides on both lines. Just a month earlier on Feb. 16, VRE riders took 20,000 rides in one day, a first for the commuter rail.

Additionally, Zehner said he is working with host railroads to arrange having one of the Manassas Line trains stored mid-day at the Broad Run station. This will allow VRE to store more trains in their mid-day fleet and allow them to add capacity to some of the more crowded trains. Zehner said these changes should also begin on May 2.