Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles (2018)

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107 VRE Virginia Railway Express Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission Northern VA–Washington, DC HISTORY The Virginia General Assembly created NVTC, encompassing Arlington County and Alexandria, among others. The Virginia General Assembly created PRTC, encompassing Prince William and Staff ord counties and Manassas. NVTC and PRTC adopted the name Virginia Railway Express and jointly established the VRE Operations Board. NVTC and PRTC entered into an operating agreement with Amtrak. Federal legislation resolved liability issues for the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). NVTC and PRTC signed agreements with Amtrak, Southern Railroad, Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac, and Conrail. The Cities of Fredericksburg and Manassas Park joined PRTC as VRE members. Loudoun County joined NVTC as a VRE member. VRE revenue service began on the Manassas Line June 22 and on the Fredericksburg Line July 20. NVTC and PRTC entered into new operating, access, and master lease agreements with CSX and NS. New service was added on both lines. NVTC, PRTC, CSX, and DRPT signed an MOU to add service and make corridor capacity improvements. The VRE Strategic Plan was adopted as a long-range vision to guide system growth and decision making. Spotsylvania County joined PRTC as a VRE member. NVTC and PRTC renewed operating, access, and master lease agreements with CSX and NS. The VRE System Plan 2040 was adopted as a long-range vision to guide system growth and decision- making. NVTC, PRTC, CSX, and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU). Spotsylvania Station opened, extending the Fredericksburg Line by 6 miles. NVTC and PRTC signed a new access and equipment storage agreement with Amtrak. 1964 1986 1988 1987 1989 1990 1992 1995 2002 2004 2010 2011 2014 2015 The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail system jointly owned by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC). VRE connects Northern Virginia suburbs to offi ces in Alexandria and Crystal City, Virginia, and downtown Washington, D.C., paralleling the Interstate 66, 395, and 95 corridors. VRE operates two branch lines: the 35-mile Manassas Line connecting the Broad Run Airport in Prince William County, Virginia, to Union Station in Washington, D.C., and the 60-mile Fredericksburg Line connecting Spotsylvania, Virginia, and Union Station. Both lines operate Monday through Friday with approximately 30-minute headways during peak periods. VRE trains run mainly in the peak direction (northbound in the morning and southbound in the afternoon). Amtrak also honors VRE tickets on select midday and reverse-commute trains between shared Amtrak/VRE stations. VRE’s CEO leads a staff of about 50 persons for day-to-day operations. Employees of VRE’s staff are technically employees of PRTC for administrative purposes. VRE owns a fleet of 20 MotivePower diesel locomotives and 93 stainless- steel, double-deck Gallery passenger coaches, which are virtually identical to those used by commuter rail operators in Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. VRE operates 32 daily trains, carrying about 18,000 passengers on a typical weekday. GOVERNANCE VRE is a joint service undertaken by NVTC and PRTC, which represent Northern Virginia counties and cities in the VRE service area. Representatives of both commissions sit on the joint VRE Operations Board. The commissions delegate most decisions to the VRE Operations Board but retain the authority for several items, such as high-value or very important contracts, including hiring of the chief executive officer (CEO). The VRE Operations Board provides a recommendation to the commissions on the action items retained by the commissions.

108 Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles VRE manages transit programs in accordance with requirements established by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and also meets a wide range of safety and regulatory requirements overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). There is no significant conflict in meeting the requirements of the regulatory authorities except some overlap between FTA and FRA in safety audit requirements. The primary contractor, Keolis, is responsible for collecting data for VRE’s operation. VRE reviews the information, adds its own data, and then submits FRA-related and National Transit Database (NTD) reporting. VRE oversees both of the major Keolis contracts—operations and maintenance of equipment—as well as the NS, CSX, and Amtrak trackage rights agreements. Keolis interacts directly with the host railroads as appropriate on a day-to-day basis. VRE takes the primary role for resiliency and emergency preparedness planning, coordinating with Keolis and with Amtrak for the section of service into WUS and at shared stations. VRE manages all major capital projects, including stations, additional main tracks, sidings, platforms, and future positive train control (PTC) compliance, with significant input from the Class I host railroads. For example, in order to meet PTC compliance, VRE will purchase the relevant PTC equipment for locomotives and cab-control cars, while CSX and NS will install the necessary fixed infrastructure. Generally, the Class I railroads are responsible for coordination, flagging, and other safety-sensitive functions on their own lines. VRE operates on tracks shared with two freight operators: CSX Transportation (CSX) and the Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS). South of Alexandria, VRE leases access to trackage from CSX for the Fredericksburg Line and from NS for the Manassas Line. North of Alexandria, all VRE trains operate over CSX tracks except for the last mile into Washington Union Station (WUS), which is owned and dispatched by Amtrak. Both VRE lines overlap with Amtrak intercity passenger service. VRE leases access to WUS and midday storage from Amtrak. Amtrak provides limited light maintenance under contract. VRE began service with an agreement with Amtrak Commuter Contract Services for all operations and rolling stock maintenance. In 2010, Keolis Commuter Services replaced Amtrak following a competitive bid for operations and maintenance services. Operations and capital projects are fi nanced from ticket revenue and a combination of federal, state, and local grants. NVTC processes VRE’s state grants, and PRTC processes VRE’s federal grants. VRE’s budget reimburses NVTC and PRTC for staff time and expenses devoted to VRE support. CONTRACTED SERVICE PERFORMANCE STATISTICS Past Trends 2012–2016 Service Data in RY* 2016 Data source: NTD *Report year: for each report year, NTD collects data refl ecting the reporter’s operation in the same fi scal year. Annual Operating Cost: $69,874,827 Total Directional Route Miles: 174 Passenger Car Revenue Miles: 2,289,083 Unlinked Passenger Trips: 4,352,814 Annual Total Passenger Miles: 145,777,038 Operating Cost per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Operating Cost per Passenger Passenger Trips per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Passenger Miles per Passenger Trip $30.53$31.46$31.46$29.17$30.29 20162015201420132012 $16.05 $14.61$14.84 $13.34$13.09 20162015201420132012 1.90 2.152.122.19 2.31 20162015201420132012 33.4933.80 29.93 32.9132.17 20162015201420132012 General Contracted Service Informa on Oversight and Responsibili es The first 5-year contract with Keolis ran from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2015. In conjunction with the contract renewal for the second 5 years, VRE separated maintenance of equipment from general operations and pursued a competitive bid for the former in order to simplify and better control life-cycle overhaul of rolling stock. The new contract for maintenance of equipment was also won by Keolis.

VRE 109 Notes for Matrix: 1. Maintenance for VRE stations is performed by the local jurisdiction or by independent contractors hired and managed by VRE (except for WUS and parts of Alexandria Station, which Amtrak maintains). 2. VRE provides oversight and support for risk management and accident investigation. Keolis provides the actual work function. 3. VRE has an independent contractor for its network of automated ticketing machines. VRE internally manages a large program of Internet sales of monthly passes. Contracted Service Matrix A—Agency; B—Host Railroads (RRs); C—Amtrak; D—Independent Contractor (RR or Non-RR) A B C D Train Operations Maintenance of Infrastructure Maintenance of Equipment Specifi cally: Train Dispatching Services Train Operations Maintenance of Equipment Facilities Maintenance Maintenance of Way Provision of Electric Traction (na) Signals and Communication Positive Train Control Maintenance Station Operations and Maintenance (1) Non-revenue Equipment Provision Safety Management Security Services (1) Environmental Services Management/Oversight Services Materials Management Services Risk Management Assessment (2) Customer Service Functions Marketing Communications Ticketing/Sales (3) Revenue Collection Information Technology Systems Accident/Fatality Investigations/Support Supplemental Work Other (na) The matrix below illustrates the responsibility for major service functions for VRE. The capital letters A, B, C, and D represent the NVTC and PRTC in-house staff (VRE), the host railroads (CSX and NS), Amtrak, and the independent contractor (Keolis), respectively.