VRE's "New Rider's" Guide Is Available On-Line
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703-684-1001 www.vre.org September 21st, 2011
VRE’s “New Rider’s” Guide Is Available
On-Line
We can tell by the increasing numbers that there are Take note of the zone number of your origination
many new riders joining the VRE family. We, therefore, station and also the zone number of your destination
wanted to make sure that these new riders were aware station. The zone pairing will determine your fare.
of our “New Rider’s Guide” which is available on-line
at www.vre.org under “Service Information”. The “New How much will my ticket be?
Rider’s Guide” contains all of the information new riders
typically want to know and a refresher course for those The next question is: how much will this cost? There are
who have been with us for some time. 7 different ticket options including:
Below, is a brief sample of some of
the information available in the guide. • Monthly Ticket – (34% discount)
unlimited rides in a calendar month.
First of all, “Welcome Aboard!”
• Transit Link Card (TLC) - unlimited
How to Contact VRE VRE and Metrorail usage for one
calendar month.
For schedule and fare information, train
updates, holiday schedules, comments • Five-Day Pass – (20% discount) good
or suggestions, you can reach the for five consecutive VRE service days.
Virginia Railway Express’ automated
phone system 24-hours a day, 365 • Ten-Ride Ticket – (8% discount)
days a year, by calling (703)-684- good for ten one-way rides
0400 or 1-800-RIDE-VRE. If you are between the fare zones on the
hearing impaired, you can contact us ticket.
through our TTY number (703) 684-
0551 or email us at gotrains@vre.org. • Step-Up Ticket – (Available for
$5.00 from the ticket vending
Write to us: Virginia Railway machines), is used in conjunction
Express, 1500 King Street, Suite with a valid multi-ride pass
202, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 with the appropriate fare zones
when riding select Amtrak trains
O r r e a c h u s a t : L o s t a n d Fo u n d : ( 7 0 3 ) 6 8 4 -
1001, Email: gotrains@vre.org, Phone: • S i n g l e - R i d e T i c ke t - a s i n g l e , o n e -way r i d e
(703) 684-1001, Fax: (703) 684-1313 (can also be purchased with two rides to allow
for a round-trip).
How To Ride VRE
• Reduced Fare Tickets for seniors, persons with
First, you will need to pick the stations that you want to disabilities, and youth ages 11-18 (50%
travel from and to. Look at our System Map and pick the off regular ticket price, requires VRE reduced
station most convenient for you. Next, choose the station fare ID to purchase tickets), available from ticket
closest to your destination. Don’t worry if your destination vendors only. See web site for list of vendors.
isn’t right next to a station, we connect with Metrorail
at five of our convenient locations. In addition, VRE • Free Rides for kids (ages 10 and under) with a fare paying
passengers can make easy connections to several transit adult.
options, including Metrobus, DASH bus, Fairfax Connector,
ART bus, PRTC Omnilink, Amtrak and MARC trains. ...continued on page 2
“New Rider’s” Guide... continued from page 1
To determine the cost of your If you have a Single-Ride, Two-Ride or Ten-Ride
ticket, look at the fare chart ticket, you must validate your ticket prior to
p r ov i d e d o n o u r w e b s i t e . each ride to make it valid (or usable). The TVMs
Find your origination station are also validators. You simply insert the end
zo n e o n t h e l e f t a n d yo u r of your ticket with the arrows in the validator
Upcoming Events
destination zone at the top to find your fare. and it will stamp the ticket. Five-Day passes
must be validated prior to their first use and
Wednesday, October
Other topics covered in the “New Rider’s may be used until the expiration date/time (AM
5th - Online Forum
Guide” on-line include: or PM) printed on the face of the ticket without
with CEO Dale
further validations. TLCs and Monthly tickets
Zehner, at noon/
• What times do the trains run? are validated simply by printing your name
Master Agreement
• Group travel on the back of the ticket. Virginia law (section
Survey on trains
• SmartBenefit Vouchers 18.2-160.1) requires passengers to purchase
• Lost and Found and validate tickets before boarding VRE trains.
Monday, October
• Connecting Services Passengers observed onboard without a valid
10th, Columbus Day,
• Guaranteed Ride Home ticket may be issued a summons, punishable as
No VRE Service
• Refunds a civil infraction with fines up to $100 plus court
• Baggage costs, as determined by the presiding judge.
Friday, November
• Bicycles
11th, Veterans Day,
• Service animals When the train arrives, simply board and
No VRE Service
• Food and Beverages attach your valid (validated) ticket to the
• Ticket Vendors clip at your seat (the conductor will be by
Thursday, November
• Smoking Policy to check it), sit back and relax. If you want,
24th, Thanksgiving,
• Rail Time let the conductor know this is your first
No VRE Service
• Train Talk ride. He or she will be sure to help you with
• Service Guarantee any questions or concerns you might have.
Friday, November
Before each stop, the next station will be
25th, Day After
If you want to start using VRE right away, the announced by the automated system on board
Thanksgiving, “S”
easiest and quickest way to get your tickets is the train. When you arrive at your destination
Schedule
to purchase them on the station platform at the station, be sure to pick up your ticket and
Ticket Vending Machines (TVM) with a debit or belongings and simply walk on to work. Or take
Friday, December
credit card. Keep in mind that tickets are NOT a short stroll to Metrorail, DASH bus, Metrobus
23rd, Christmas Eve
sold on the trains. The TVMs are easy to use and or any number of other transportation systems
Observance, “S”
very user friendly. They dispense Single-Ride, to get to work. Coming home, simply repeat
Schedule
Two-Ride, Ten-Ride, Five-Day, and Monthly the earlier steps. If necessary, be sure
tickets. TLCs and Discounted tickets may only to validate your ticket for the return trip.
Monday, December
be purchased at specified vendor locations.
26th, Christmas
We hope this makes things simple and easy to
Observance, No VRE
What else do I need to know? ride VRE. Enjoy the trip and thank you for riding.
Service
BRAC-Related Bus Changes
VRE Update is a Fairfax Connector to Fort 331, 332, and 380D. Additionally, four other
publication of Virgin- Belvoir new routes will be introduced: 333, 334, 335
ia Railway Express. and 371. These changes are currently in effect.
The newsletter is The “Eagle Express”, formally
published monthly registered as Fairfax Connector The “Eagle Express” will operate between
12 times per year. Route 335, went into full service Sept. 6. The the Franconia-Springfield Metrorail Station
Stories included are service to Fort Belvoir will operate in morning and and the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital
for the sole use of afternoon rush hours Monday through Friday. during morning and afternoon rush hours,
VRE riders. Com- Monday through Friday. The cost is the same
ments and questions The addition of the “Eagle Express” route is one as the regional express fare prices of $3.65
may be directed to of a number of Fairfax Connector bus service with a SmarTrip card or $3.85 with cash.
VRE at gotrains@ changes and route restructuring which began Passengers will need to have a government-
vre.org or at (703) on Sept. 3 in anticipation of Base Realignment issued photo ID to ride this bus onto the post.
684-1001. and Closure growth at Fort Belvoir. Other
changes will occur to eight existing Fairfax Meanwhile, details about other Fairfax
Connector routes: 159, 171, 305, 307, 310, ...continued on page 3
Page 2
BRAC-Related Bus... continued from page 2
SmartBenefits
Reminder:
Connector BRAC-related bus • Additional peak hour short trips will be
system changes are online added to provide a 10 to 20 minute frequency VRE Vendors will
at http://www.fairfaxcounty. of service between the Ballston - MU station continue to accept
g ov / c o n n e c t o r / n e w s / 2 0 1 1 / and Barcroft to serve the DOD and State SmartBenefit
brac.htm. To download the Department facilities at Arlington Hall vouchers until
system map visit http://www.fairfaxcounty. (George Mason Drive, south of Arlington November 30th.
g ov / c o n n e c t o r / p d f / s c s y s m a p b ra c . p d f. Boulevard). Eastbound 22A/ short trips to After Nov. 30th riders
Barcroft (Four Mile Run Drive and Columbia will no longer be
Metro bus to Mark Center Pike) will be scheduled to leave Ballston able to exchange the
between 5:45 and 8:34 a.m. Westbound paper vouchers for
Mark Center-Pentagon Line, Route 7M (NEW) short trips to Ballston will be scheduled to VRE tickets.
leave Barcroft between 2:51 and 6:26 p.m.
• A new weekday route between the Pentagon Riders who now
and Mark Center will be implemented via Richmond Highway Express (REX) receive electronic
I-395, Seminary Road, Beauregard Street SmartBenefits need
and Mark Center Drive to the new transit Opening of the new Fort to first:
station at the DOD facility on Mark Center Belvoir Community Hospital:
Drive, south of Seminary Road in Alexandria. 1. Purchase a
Buses will operate every 10 minutes during •The Belvoir Road gate, returned to 24 SmarTrip card.
peak periods and every 15 minutes during hour operation on Aug. 7 when the new
midday hours, with departures from the hospital opened. All weekday, Saturday and 2. Register that
Pentagon from 5:40 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday trips, including late evening trips SmarTrip card
from Mark Center from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. currently terminating at Richmond Highway
and Old Mill Road due to the 9 p.m. gate 3. Create an account
• The regular Metrobus fare will be charged. closure, will operate to and from Fort Belvoir with WMATA or
DOD employees boarding at the Pentagon, serving the new hospital and then to Jackson contact Commuter
Mark Center or Southern Towers may ride Loop (the current weekday-only terminal). Direct
free with their Mark Center ID on all 7M trips.
• Two weekday northbound trips will be added 4. Assign your
Lincolnia - North Fairlington Line, Routes 7A, E, F, Y leaving Fort Belvoir at 10:31 and 11 p.m. benefits to
to serve late evening hospital shift workers. an Electronic
• Routing and schedules will not change. Weekday, Saturday and Sunday trip times SmartBenefits vendor
Routes 7A and 7F, which currently operate will be adjusted by up to five minutes to
via Mark Center Drive seven days a week, reflect the revised routing in Fort Belvoir. Each month, your
will serve the new Mark Center Transit benefits will then
Station at the DOD facility on Mark Center For more information, visit: http://www. be automatically
Drive, south of Seminary Road in Alexandria. wmata.com/bus/route_changes.cfm assigned to the same
vendor, unless you
• DOD employees boarding at the Pentagon, Or contact Juanita Green, Transportation choose to change it
Mark Center or Southern Towers may ride free Demand Management Coordinator (by making a change
with their Mark Center ID on all 7A, E, F, Y trips. at juanita.b.green.civ@mail.mil. in your account on
the WMATA website).
Lincolnia - Park Center - Pentagon
Line, Routes 7 B , D , W, X only There are many
other Transit Benefit
• Routes 7W and 7X will be changed to serve Options that VRE
the new Mark Center Transit Station to provide accepts, from pre-
peak hour transit connections between the DOD paid debit cards of
facility on Mark Center Drive and points south. many different types/
issuers, to transit
• DOD employees boarding at the Pentagon, Mark checks such as
Center or Southern Towers may ride free with TransBen Checks or
their Mark Center ID on all 7B, D, W, X trips only. Commuter Check.
Foxchase - Seminary Valley Line, Route 8W only For more information,
please visit http://
• Service will be extended from Seminary www.vre.org/service/
Road and Library Lane to Mark Center. service-information.
htm
Barcroft - South Fairlington Line, Route 22A
Page 3
Courtesy Corner Clifton Day, Sunday, Oct. 9th
Please do not park in The annual non-profit • A bottle of red wine – Le Lapin Multiplicity
the spaces reserved Clifton Day event, raising donated by The Clifton Wine Shop
for handicapped funds for a variety of local
parking, even for organizations is Sunday, • A bottle of white wine – Legacy Chardonnay
"only a few minutes." October 9th, with a rain date Murfatlar donated by The Clifton Wine Shop
Cars without a the following Sunday on
handicap tag are not October 16th. The festival
allowed to park in includes arts and crafts, Train Schedule:
disabled spots. The antiques, demonstrations,
appropriate placard t h e To w n M a r ke t , l i ve
must be used, and music, children’s activities
used properly. If the and lots of good food. Hours
person the placard of operations are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
is issued to is either
not in the car or Getting to Clifton Day:
not getting out of
the car, the parking VRE will run trains from the Manassas, Manassas
space cannot be Park, Rolling Road and Burke Stations to Clifton
used. This would for free. Tickets for the return trip from Clifton
take away a spot may be purchased at the red caboose in Clifton
from those who truly for $5. Children aged 2 and under ride free
need it. Violations with a fare paying adult. VRE passengers
of these parking may NOT use their VRE ticket for passage.
standards can result
in heavy fines. Fo r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n C l i f t o n D ay
Common courtesy call (703) 968-0740 or visit the Clifton
would dictate that Day website at cliftonday@verizon.net.
people without
disabilities not park Donate a pint of blood to the American
in a spot reserved Red Cross on Clifton Day and be entered
for people who rely to win one of the following door prizes:
on wheelchairs
and walkers to get • $50 gift certificate donated by Trummer’s on Main
around.
If that’s not a strong
enough reason, think
safety. Long-Awaited Cherry Hill Station
Most handicap
parking spots are
Could Soon Become a Reality
close to entrances, A west coast development company, SunCal The new developer would like to have
not just for easy Cos., recently purchased the 1,920-acre lot construction underway within a year but they
access but also located in Prince William County’s Cherry are still evaluating the best build-out for the
to minimize how Hill Peninsula, and wants to build Harbor project, because it will all be market-driven.
far people in a Station — a mixed-use town center and golf
wheelchair have course community that has been planned The original Harbor Station plan called for up to
to travel through a for years but has failed to come to fruition. 4,000 residential units, 3.7 million square feet of
parking lot. commercial space, a marina, hotel, golf course
Before the recession hit in 2008, developer and a new Virginia Railway Express station.
Motorists have a Robert C. Kettler had a grand vision for the
hard time seeing property that fit into the county’s plan to turn Under the existing agreement, the VRE
the low profile of a a portion of Prince William’s eastern end dotted station, which is part of VRE’s long-term
person sitting in a with strip malls and vacant buildings into a plan, would be funded primarily by SunCal.
wheelchair, especially pristine community. Kettler had funneled about VRE has already completed permitting and
as they back up a $200 million into the project. He had built preliminary engineering on the third track from
vehicle. the golf course, which remains closed, and Powell’s Creek to Arkendale. VRE is working
a network of roadways that is still waiting to on finishing the design in the next 1-2 years
be surrounded with development. When the and starting construction on the track if funds
recession hit, everything came to a halt and become available. The track will need to be
the property became available for sale again. in place before the station is put in service.
Page 4
On Time Performance On-Time
Performance
August 2011
Fredericksburg
Line
300 – 96%
302 – 87%
304 – 96%
306 – 96%
308 – 96%
310 – 91%
312 - 91%
301 – 96%
303 – 87%
305 – 74%
307 – 96%
309 – 83%
311 – 83%
313 – 91%
Overall – 88%
Manassas Line
322 – 100%
324 – 100%
326 – 100%
328 – 100%
330 – 100%
332 – 100%
336 - 91%
338 - 96%
321 - 100%
325 – 96%
327 – 91%
329 – 96%
331 – 91%
333 – 83%
335 – 91%
337 – 91%
Overall – 93%
*A train is
considered
delayed if it is
more than 5
minutes later than
the posted
schedule into its
The photo above shows the washout near Franconia/Springfield that caused train final destination.
delays and service cancelations on Sept 8th and 9th. The washout was spotted by
one of our locomotive engineers. Thanks to the flash flood related speed restrictions,
he was able to stop the train quickly and safely before reaching the washout.
Page 5
Efficiency & Banner Testing
What exactly is efficiency testing, and how come and, most importantly, cautious and safe train operation
i t c a n ’ t b e d o n e a t t h e s t a t i o n b e f o r e a t ra i n by Keolis-VRE crews. Operating a train is very similar
leaves or after a train arrives at its destination? to piloting an airliner. The engineers and conductors
are constantly communicating with each other, just
Efficiency tests are a bit like “traffic cops” of the railroad. as pilots and co-pilots must do to safely operate
In order to ensure your safety on a heavily traveled rail a plane. They are continually verbalizing operating
corridor, the operating officials of Keolis, CSX and Norfolk instructions and safety checks with each other, but on a
Southern periodically conduct “efficiency” or “banner” train, they have to do it by radio rather than by sitting
tests on the crews that operate your trains. Much like side-by-side. Conductors are responsible for reminding the
troopers on highways, these teams create unannounced engineers of where they must reduce their speed … engineers
“tests” and “observations” of employee compliance with call out the signals as he sees them from the front window.
the Codes of Operating Rules that ensure your safety.
It’s a constant back-and-forth communication, and
In recent years, railroad locomotive engineers have nothing can be overlooked. In today’s world, where rail
become licensed within strict, federally approved traffic is heavy and a lot of track work is underway, there
guidelines. Part of this rulemaking, created by the Federal are countless danger areas. The crew starts everyday
Railroad Administration (FRA), requires periodic testing of with a sheet of orders that they must quickly digest,
your engineer, in the field. Conductors are also tested within commit to memory, and then comply with throughout
the owning railroad’s rules and regulations. And, because the trip. In that kind of intense environment, these
the tests are administered by Keolis, Norfolk Southern tests are critical for the safe operation of our trains.
and CSX, we do not have any control of when and where
they will occur. Efficiency tests have many similarities with The efficiency tests and procedures can occur
highway rules enforcement. The tests include using radar at any time, at any location, in any weather. Delays to your
to discreetly check maximum speed compliance; setting train can be as short as five minutes to as much as 20
railroad traffic control signals to “red” to check stopping minutes. If a crew failed a major test, a new crew would
compliance; and stopping and boarding trains to check be called to take over operation, and the delay would be
that conductors and engineers have the proper rule books, lengthy. Thankfully, VRE has always passed its efficiency
bulletins and other associated paperwork required to testing and has never had to have a crew replaced … and
safely run your train (much like a police officer stopping we, of course, plan to keep it that way! But the only way
drivers at road blocks and asking for their license and to ensure your safety and our continued safe operations,
registration). In some cases, a barricade is placed on the is to continue to endure with these tests. So, if you
tracks, simulating that there is another train ahead. When a experience a delay due to an efficiency test, we ask for your
train has received verbal permission from a train dispatcher patience. The reward is a great one: knowing that you are
to pass a red (stop) signal, the train must proceed in good hands with well-trained crews—and safe from the
“prepared to stop short of train ahead or obstruction.” The maddening unknowns of the nearby highways. You
train must stop short of the barricade. These procedures may grumble at a delay, but simply put, we are
have continued to insure alertness, professionalism never going to sacrifice safety for convenience.
For Your Safety: Stay Behind the Yellow
Line
Always be aware of one’s surroundings.
For example, if you are standing near
the yellow line on a very crowded
station platform with people jostling
to maneuver through the crowd, it is
possible to be accidentally bumped
off the platform. Also, trains passing the stations are not
required to slow down if they are not scheduled to stop.
The wind generated by these passing trains can snatch
a newspaper or hat very quickly, catching you off guard.
Even worse, if a railcar happens to have a loose cable or
a shifted load that inspections or detectors have failed to
detect, they can cause harm to those who are crowding
the edge of the platform. For your own safety, please stay
back from the edge of the platform and remember that
the yellow tactile strip is not intended to protect you from
anything, it’s only a minimal line of protection to prevent
slip and fall accidents near the edges while boarding.You can also read
