Supporters of passenger rail are watching closely, as state lawmakers try to strike a bargain on transportation funding. The planned expansion of passenger rail to Roanoke is riding on the negotiations, and so is existing service from Lynchburg to Washington.
Greg Marston is Virginia State Legislative Director for the Brotherhood of Maintenance Way Employees. "If they approve this," Marston told us in an interview, "the three of us would be able to board a train in Roanoke within three years. And if they don't approve it, the three of us won't live long enough to see a passenger train come through Roanoke."
Rail supporters were getting nervous when a partisan fight in the State Senate threatened to kill any hope of a transportation compromise. They're feeling a bit more optimistic now, but the next two and a half weeks could have a major impact on the future of passenger rail in the region.
Herb Harris is an Amtrak engineer, who is representing the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen at the General Assembly. Like Marston, he has been lobbying lawmakers to support funding for passenger rail.
"If you lose these passenger rail slots and the opportunity to run these trains," Harris told us, "they'll be filled with freight volume and capacity. You may not be able to get the opportunity to do that again in the foreseeable future."
Lawmakers are due to adjourn in less than three weeks. Discussions continue behind the scenes, but it will likely be the end of the session before we know if we're getting a comprehensive transportation plan, a scaled-down version or nothing at all.
