sylver_dragon t1_je6in6f wrote on March 29, 2023 at 7:34 PM

Reply to comment by sporkityfork in The Silver Line to Dulles is a bigger deal than I thought it would be by MrMoustachio55

> Virginia has VRE but it's pretty limited.

Ya, this system really needs to be expanded. When I was still commuting to DC, I took the VRE in from Fredericksburg and it made for a much better commute than driving. The only downside is that it's very focused on the 0700-1600 workers. If you aren't planning to be out of the city by 1700, you're skating on thin ice. I think they've expanded slightly in the last year or so; but, it's still aimed squarely at early workers.

What I really wish for is that they would expand service to cover weekends. It'd be great to take the family up to DC on a Saturday and not fight traffic. Also, better tracks for faster trains. It's shameful that driving in traffic is somehow faster than a dedicated set of rails.

sporkityfork t1_je6kz7y wrote on March 29, 2023 at 7:49 PM

Yeah. I've lived that life. VRE didn't make sense to me at the time based on where I had to work. I also wasn't very familiar with the bus system in that area at the time. This is why I95 is such a hellish road between DC and FXBG...

Virginia planners would rather build an expensive privately operated toll road than to put rail in....

It is really wonderful that Loudoun County planners have been supportive of comprehensive rail and bus transit. Other counties that really should be like Stafford haven't been...

And it doesn't help that a lot of people that live that far out, certainly out where I live, see DC as practically Mordor...