Who We Are
NRV Passenger Rail is broad-based community initiative to bring Amtrak passenger rail service to Virginia's New River Valley. Formed in 2013, NRV Passenger Rail represents a unique partnership between business, municipal, legislative, and university leaders with support from all corners of our region. With involvement from every municipality in the region and major universities, alongside strong legislative support and business commitments, the effort represents all facets of civic leadership in the region. Administrative support is provided by The Blacksburg Partnership. NRV Passenger Rail seeks to gain funding for extending Amtrak's Northeast Regional Service to Christiansburg. Currently, Roanoke serves as the southernmost terminus for the Northeast Regional, which provides passenger rail along the nation's Mid-Atlantic corridor north to Boston. The New River Valley, with more than 180,000 residents, is the state's fastest growing region west of Richmond. It has ample demographics to support passenger rail usage, particularly more than 40,000 students at Virginia Tech and Radford University.
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Next Stop: Christiansburg
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LATEST NEWS
Virginia and Norfolk Southern Announce Closing of Western Rail Initiative Agreement
June 30, 2022 RICHMOND & ATLANTA— The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) today announced the financial closing of the Western Rail Initiative Agreement which will expand passenger rail service from Washington, DC to Roanoke, Va. and to the New River Valley. The first step in the expansion is the[…]
Governor Northam Announces Definitive Agreement with Norfolk Southern to Expand Passenger Rail Service to Southwest Virginia
RICHMOND–Governor Ralph Northam today announced the Commonwealth has finalized the definitive agreement with Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) to expand passenger rail service to the New River Valley for the first time since 1979. The Western Rail Initiative expands passenger rail service to the New River Valley and complements Governor Northam’s historic $3.7 billion Transforming[…]
Passenger rail service on track to return to the New River Valley -The Roanoke Times
CHRISTIANSBURG — Gov. Ralph Northam has announced that Virginia has reached an agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway to extend passenger rail to the New River Valley and increase the intercity service from Roanoke to the Northeast Corridor. Northam shared the milestone development Wednesday during an event just outside of the Regal New River Valley &[…]
Plans underway to expand Amtrak service in NRV | WDBJ7.com
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has unanimously voted to reaffirm its support of working to bring Amtrak service to the New River Valley as one of its legislative priorities for 2021. It comes as Amtrak continues to struggle financially due to COVID-19. Amtrak has been an option for transportation in[…]
Roanoke Amtrak stop shows most ridership growth in state
New ridership numbers cement the viability of Roanoke’s Amtrak station. The Department of Rail and Public Transportation released the latest figures, showing Roanoke’s route as the only route in Virginia seeing a positive year-over-year increase. The numbers just released show a comparison from the number of people who road Amtrak trains in 2017 to those[…]
Norfolk Southern delay sidetracks New River Valley’s Amtrak plan | Blacksburg News | roanoke.com
CHRISTIANSBURG — A $350,000 study that intends to determine what improvements are needed to bring Amtrak service to the New River Valley has been placed on indefinite hold. Officials with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation said this past week that Norfolk Southern has halted its involvement in the study due to the[…]
Christiansburg continues hopeful preparation for Amtrak station | News | roanoke.com
CHRISTIANSBURG — Town officials plan to continue efforts that they — and numerous others across the New River Valley — hope will lead to an extended Amtrak route beyond the one that currently runs between Roanoke and Boston. The town has an agreement with Christiansburg-based Community Housing Partners (CHP) to buy land for a potential[…]
State on track for passenger rail cost analysis | News | heraldcourier.com
A state study to examine the potential cost of extending passenger rail service into Southwest Virginia remains on track. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is expected to begin the study during fiscal 2018-19, to assess other potential destinations west of Roanoke, including Bristol and the more heavily populated New River Valley, according[…]
Council updated on passenger rail study
Amtrak service to the New River Valley is still on the table for the near future, and this week members of the Christiansburg Town Council received an update on those plans. John Tutle serves on the marketing committee of the NRV Passenger Rail Study group. “Plans date back to 2013, and now it’s ready to[…]
All Aboard | Virginia Tech Magazine
In January, a Virginia Tech Magazine writer and photographer made tracks to the Big Apple. Like many Hokies, they were surprised to find how easy it is to travel up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Taking the train from Roanoke, they reached New York City’s Penn Station in just nine hours. The service, which arrives[…]