VRE Sees Record Ridership

The Manassas Virginia Railway Express line is seeing record ridership numbers. 

WTOP is reporting an average of 20,000 passengers riding the Fredericksburg and Manassas rail lines on a daily basis.

VRE CEO Dale Zehner told WTOP The numbers are the highest they have ever been and the "30 highest ridership days have all occurred in the last six months."

The increase in rail usage by commuters is being attributed to the regions traffic woes and the ability of the trains to get where they are going on time.

But the news does not come without some growing pains for the VRE. The high volume of riders has led to train overcrowding, especially during rush hours.

Zehner said there are but it could be another two years before they are put into service. In the meantime, , such as Amtrak Step-up tickets.

The VRE is expected to expand into Spotsylvania County within two years with plans on the drawing board for an expansion to Gainesville as well, according to WTOP.

Zehner said the ridership demand is expected to go up as traffic jams continue to back up.