The Manassas Line is a
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 ...
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
service that extends from
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 ...
, to
Bristow, Virginia
Bristow is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community of Prince William County, Virginia, Prince William County about 30 miles (48 km) from Washington, D.C. It is situated between Manassas, Virginia and Gainesville, Virginia. As of 20 ...
. The first of VRE's two lines, with service beginning on June 22, 1992, the line operates on tracks 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 ...
(the
RF&P Subdivision) and
Virginia Passenger Rail Authority.
The line got around 5,062 boardings per day in April 2025.
History
The line south of
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 ...
, was once owned by
Southern Railway, whose ''Crescent'' train stopped at the line's Alexandria and stations. When U.S. intercity passenger service was taken over by
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 ...
, the new railroad continued the service between and
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 ...
.
In 1984, planning began for a commuter rail service for the area. Eight years later, after many new stations were constructed, Virginia Railway Express began operating trains on the line on June 22, 1992.
In 2009, Amtrak extended its service south to Lynchburg, bringing more trains to Manassas and .
In 2017, VRE began a $2.8 million study of expansion to the Broad Run station and layover facility that would allow additional Manassas Line service.
The
Virginia Passenger Rail Authority purchased the line from with Norfolk Southern between Broad Run and Alexandria used by VRE in 2024.
Stations list
References
External links
{{Transit in NOVA
Rail infrastructure in Virginia
Southern Railway (U.S.)
Rail infrastructure in Washington, D.C.
1992 establishments in Virginia