Taking a train from Haymarket to Washington could become a reality in the next eight to 10 years.
Virginia Railway Express, the state’s only commuter railroad, will hold its first community meeting to discuss an 11-mile extension of the system’s Manassas line, west to Gainesville and Haymarket.
The Manassas line spans from Broad Run / Manassas Regional Airport to Union Station in Washington, D.C., and VRE’s Fredericksburg line runs from Fredericksburg to Union Station parallel to Interstate 95.
VRE is conducting a study to examine what it would take to get trains rolling west of Manassas, along Norfolk-Southern’s B-line. If service to Haymarket ever takes off, bound for the town would split from the main rail line at Wellington Road in Manassas and travel underneath a recently constructed overpass at Route 28 and Wellington Road. Trains would continue west, through the Innovation at Prince William business park, Gainesville, and would terminate in Haymarket.
“To have a downtown Haymarket train station would be a good thing,” said town mayor David Leake.
Nearly 10 years ago, Haymarket officials opposed an extension of VRE. Today, the town supports it wholeheartedly.
“I think people hear a lot of misinformation about VRE, about it decreasing property values and increased train noise,” said Leake. “All you have to do is crack open a newspaper, look at the real estate section, and you’ll see people advertising homes that are ‘close to VRE,’ so it will actually increase property values.”
Here’s a snippet from the VRE Gainesville-Haymarket Extension study (VRE GHX) press release about the study:
VRE initiated this new study of the Gainesville-Haymarket Extension in July 2015 to advance this important regional transportation initiative. The current VRE GHX study is anticipated to require approximately two years to complete and is a critical step toward bringing commuter rail service to the Gainesville-Haymarket area. If the analysis supports continued project development, final design and construction would follow. Passenger rail operations could begin in eight to ten years.
VRE developed a website that contains information about the study.
Leake said many area homeowners associations are very interested in the project. The town plans to work with VRE to hold a joint meeting with town and commuter railroad officials, and HOA residents.
To cut back on noise at Greenhill Crossing — a community that abuts the trains tracks, and where Leake serves on the HOA board — the community could ask for a sound wall as part of the project. Leake said such a sound wall would be unique to Haymarket, and that he was not familiar with other sound walls constructed near other VRE stations.
The public meeting will be held from Tuesday, November 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gainesville Middle School, located at 8001 Limestone Drive in Gainesville.
