Amtrak Virginia is the collective name for
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
's state-supported
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
train service, all of which falls under the ''
Northeast Regional
The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...
'' brand. Amtrak Virginia trains run between
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and one of four southern termini:
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
,
Newport News
Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, or
Roanoke. Trains generally continue north from D.C. along the
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
, providing one-seat rides from Virginia to
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
.
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority has overseen Amtrak Virginia since 2020.
History
After Amtrak took over intercity passenger service on May 1, 1971, rail service in Virginia was limited to a small number of long-distance trains, where they were often not suited to regional travel. Regional service south to Newport News began on June 14, 1976, when Amtrak ended the Newport News section of the and the was added in its place with two daily round trips from Boston to Newport News via Alexandria, Richmond and Williamsburg.

Virginia and Amtrak partnered in 2009 under the brand ''Amtrak Virginia'' to expand passenger rail service within the Commonwealth, making Virginia the 15th state to fund state services in addition to federally funded routes. One daily ''Northeast Regional'' round trip was extended from Washington to
Lynchburg via
Manassas
Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...
and
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...
on October 1, 2009, supplementing the existing ''Crescent'' service. In the first month, ridership doubled expectations. On July 20, 2010, Amtrak added an additional ''Northeast Regional'' frequency from Washington to
Richmond Staples Mill Road station
Richmond Staples Mill Road station is an Amtrak train station located in unincorporated Henrico County, Virginia, about northwest of downtown Richmond. It is served by the daily , , , , and several daily trains.
History
Amtrak took over in ...
, increasing the Washington-Richmond corridor to eight daily round trips with hourly northbound morning service.
A further extension south from Richmond to Norfolk along
Norfolk Southern
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
tracks was planned by the Department of Rail & Public Transportation (DRPT), and the Commonwealth of Virginia in cooperation with Amtrak. Certain track upgrades (e.g., passing sidings, replacing track to increase operating speeds) between Richmond and Norfolk that were necessary to enable this extension were funded jointly by Norfolk Southern and DRPT. Service started on December 12, 2012. A second daily Norfolk round trip on weekdays was added on March 4, 2019. Schedules for the Newport News trains are also being modified to improve service to the Hampton Roads region.
On August 9, 2013, it was announced that Amtrak hoped to complete track and infrastructure upgrades in order to bring train service to Roanoke by 2016. The project encountered delays, and by late 2016 service was planned to begin in late 2017 with a single train extended from Lynchburg serving the city daily after construction of the
Roanoke station platform, which was to begin in early 2017 and take most of the year. Amtrak began service to Roanoke on October 31, 2017.
In December 2017 the DRPT started the Virginia Breeze, a state bus service operated by
Megabus for areas not served by rail. there are four daily routes that terminate at
Washington Union Station
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...
, with stops at a few other Amtrak Virginia stations.
On December 19, 2019, Virginia Governor
Ralph Northam
Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...
announced a $3.7 billion program to expand rail service in Virginia, which includes doubling the frequency of Amtrak service between Richmond and Washington.
As part of the program, the commonwealth paid
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
$525 million to purchase 223 miles of track and 386 miles of right-of-way, a deal which was finalized on March 31, 2021. One round trip was extended from Staples Mill to Main Street in September 2021 as the first service expansion under the program. Service changes on July 11, 2022, added a second daily Roanoke round trip and an additional Norfolk weekday round trip (making three round trips on weekdays and two on weekends). That change resulted in July 2022 ridership on the state-supported Virginia routes being 20% higher than June 2022 and 29% higher than July 2019.
Proposed expansion
Extension of the route south of Roanoke to
Christiansburg, Virginia
Christiansburg (formerly Hans Meadows) is a town in the southwestern portion of Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. It has served as the seat of government for the county since 1792, when it was formally recognized by the Virginia Gener ...
, near
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
, is proposed, with further extension to
Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee as a long-range possibility. In 2021, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) and Norfolk Southern reached an agreement for the state to purchase part of the former
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.
History
...
for service to the New River Valley. A station was to be built at
Merrimac, between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, with service by 2025. , however, the VRPA and Norfolk Southern were in negotiations to instead extend service on the N-Line (ex-Norfolk and Western) with a station at
Cambria
Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity) or the early medieval period. After the ...
, closer to Christiansburg. The VRPA indicated this could be done faster and cheaper than service on the Virginian line.
Closed in 1979,
Bedford station in
Bedford, Virginia
Bedford is an incorporated town and former Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city located within Bedford County, Virginia, Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the ...
, was not reopened as part of the extension to Roanoke. In 2021, the DRPT estimated that an
infill station
An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train ser ...
in Bedford would draw 10,050 new riders per year, cost $10.9 million, and could be completed by 2025.

In May 2022, Amtrak and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority reached an agreement to build an Amtrak platform at
Crystal City, currently served by
Virginia Railway Express
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksbur ...
, as part of the station's reconstruction. , the work is expected to be complete by 2026.
Commonwealth Corridor
Stakeholders have proposed a new cross-Virginia train along a route designated the
Commonwealth Corridor: Newport News–Richmond–Charlottesville–Lynchburg–Roanoke. The service would enable faster east-west travel within the Amtrak Virginia network without the need to travel north, transfer at Alexandria, and return south. The route would use existing rail lines and would also follow the Northeast Regional extension to Christiansburg.
A 2021 feasibility study for the corridor conducted by DRPT estimated that the service would cost $416.5 million to get started, and would generate 177,200 annual riders by 2040. In December 2023, the
Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...
accepted an application by the DRPT to enter the Commonwealth Corridor route into its
Corridor Identification and Development Program
The Corridor Identification and Development Program, abbreviated as the Corridor ID Program, is a comprehensive planning program for inter-city passenger rail projects in the United States administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) ...
. The program grants $500,000 toward service planning and prioritizes the route for future federal funding.
Operations
Services
, Amtrak Virginia consists of eight ''
Northeast Regional
The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...
'' round trips on weekdays, and seven on Saturdays and Sundays. Due to branching, cities receive varying levels of service, with only
Alexandria Union Station seeing all trips. For example, sees six weekday round trips while Richmond's more centrally-located
Main Street Station Main Street station may refer to:
Canada
* Main Street station (Toronto), a subway station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
* Main Street–Science World station, a SkyTrain station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
United Kingdom
* Main Street ra ...
sees just three, while the remaining three continue .
Washington Union Station
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...
is the northern limit of state-supported service. From there, trains generally continue onto the
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
and terminate at
Boston South Station or
Springfield Union Station in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.
Amtrak Virginia service is supplemented by Amtrak's federally-funded long-distance routes through the state: the ''
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
'' to , ''
Crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hindu iconography, Hind ...
'' to , ''
Palmetto'' to , ''
Silver Service
''Silver Service'' was a brand applied by Amtrak to its long-distance trains running along the United States East Coast between New York City and Miami, Florida. It comprised two trains – the and . Since November 2024, the ''Silver Star'' ...
'' to , and ''
Auto Train
''Auto Train'' is an scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando, Florida, Orlando). ''Auto Train'' is the only mot ...
'' to . The state-supported ''
Carolinian'' also runs through Virginia, but is primarily sponsored by
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and falls under the
NC by Train brand, not Amtrak Virginia.
Trackage
All Amtrak Virginia services use the northernmost portion of the ex-
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad co ...
(now owned by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
) between Washington and
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
. South of Alexandria, trains to Roanoke use the
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
(ex-
Southern Railway, ex-Virginia Midland Railway). Trains to Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News use the CSX
RF&P
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad com ...
,
Richmond Terminal, and
Bellwood subdivisions between Alexandria and Richmond.
South of Richmond, trains to Newport News use the CSX
Peninsula Subdivision
The Peninsula Extension which created the Peninsula Subdivision of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was the new railroad line on the Virginia Peninsula from Richmond to southeastern Warwick County. Its principal purpose was to provide ...
. Trains to Norfolk use the CSX
North End Subdivision and Norfolk Southern's Norfolk District (ex-
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
).
References
{{Amtrak routes
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
Passenger rail transportation in Virginia