Bad news for rail junkies: Despite rising gasoline prices and ever-worsening congestion, ridership on the Virginia Railway Express is falling. VRE ridership declined about 2 percent, or by about 178 passengers, in the fiscal year that ended June 30 compared to the prior year, according to the Manassas Journal-Messenger. That’s quite a contrast to the average ridership growth of 13 percent annually in the five previous years.
VRE officials blamed rail maintenance by CSX and Norfolk Southern, which own the rail lines, hot weather that warps the steel rail and forces trains to slow down, and limited parking around the stations.
