Acca Yard Richmond, VA

Apparently more work on the Acca Yard is scheduled. I did the NY to FL train years ago and must have gone through this yard and been slowed down at this point.

Anyone know when this project will be completed? This projects along with others on the route should speed up the trains in the future.

I know that after mulling it over for several years, Virginia decided on a western bypass of Acca. This has been under construction since 2015 and is supposedly due for completion this spring.

I'm not exactly sure what form this bypass is taking. Does it go all the way west around the shops too, or does it pass between the yard and the shops? How does it tie in at the southern end? Would be interested to know.

Once this west bypass is completed, will more Amtrak service be able to call at Richmond Main Street, or are there other pieces of that puzzle yet to be addressed?

After some Google maps research it looks like the route will be double track in between the shops and yard. Although this will improve the situation, it must be remembered the improvement is primarily for CSX's benefit not Amtrak's.
There is a better solution for Amtrak. On the far west side of the facility there is a siding from the south end of the yard. It goes nearly to the north end of the shop tracks, but doesn't connect. This could be connected and purchased by Amtrak (upgrade to FRA Class 4) giving an Amtrak - ONLY bypass for all trains except the Newport News and Norfolk Regionals.

What is the status of the initiative to reroute Amtrak trains thru Richmond's Main Street Station and down the CSX (former SAL) Bellwood Subdivision to the vicinity of Bellwood, rejoining the main line a ways south of the DLA Distribution Depot?

jhdeasy wrote:What is the status of the initiative to reroute Amtrak trains thru Richmond's Main Street Station and down the CSX (former SAL) Bellwood Subdivision to the vicinity of Bellwood, rejoining the main line a ways south of the DLA Distribution Depot?

I don’t believe that any of the work needed South of main street has been funded yet, I doubt it will begin work before the Long Bridge replacement have been paid off. I am guessing that this project is lumped into the S-line reactivatiion, that project is ready to go (Tier 2 EIS is complete and record of decision is signed) but that stretch of track is in a tough political spot. VDOT likes the project but since it is primarily for the benefit of riders south of the state line it is not a priority, NCDOT rail division loves the project but only a small portion of the dollars spent will be in NC (and the current political climate in NC means only small, ‘leftover’ dollars might get spent here). It feels like both states are waiting on a chunk of ARRA type dollars to materialize from the feds to get everything built.

As an NC resident I hope I am wrong about all that...

An alternative to the Acca Yard problem is to reconnect the old connection at Doswell (I believe it was/is called Hanover Jct.) between the original Viginia Central and the RF&P. Then re-route the Silvers, Palmetto, Carolinian and AutoTrain via Main St. Station and the Bellwood line. None of these stop in Ashland. They could stop at Main St. and avoid Acca and Ashland completely. Also think the Norfolk trains should stop at Main St. as well as Staples Mill.
This would take some $ but woud probably improve on-time performance and add possible riders to/from Norfolk. A real time improvement could be realized by double-tracking Doswell to Richmond where possible.

Incidentally, I think that the start of the new Norfolk/NPN schedule on March 4th (a week from now) means that Acca is "done" along with whatever else CSX and NS had demanded before another train could go south of Richmond.

https://augustafreepress.com/virginia-a ... g-march-4/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re-routing the LD trains from Doswell to RVM then the Bellwood sub has two serious problems:
1. It means bypassing Staples Mill Rd. station and the considerable ridership that stop generates.
2. Auto train with its superliners and auto carriers cannot clear the triple crossing restrictions on cars over a certain height south of Main St. Station.

I think RVR could be relocated to a same-or-better location. Any suggestions?

I think the Autotrain would NOT move off its current route (and wouldn't need to follow if the other trains moved)

Alex M wrote:Re-routing the LD trains from Doswell to RVM then the Bellwood sub has two serious problems:
1. It means bypassing Staples Mill Rd. station and the considerable ridership that stop generates.
2. Auto train with its superliners and auto carriers cannot clear the triple crossing restrictions on cars over a certain height south of Main St. Station.

1. How many of the Staples Mill passengers only use that station because the train they want doesn't go to Main St? Survey required.
2. Did not know about the height problems for the AutoTrain, soI guess it has to keep the current route. It seems to perform better when it gets out ahead of 91.

by Arlington » Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:07 pm

I think RVR could be relocated to a same-or-better location. Any suggestions?

I can't find any. My idea is to minimize it's use.

My reasons for re-routes via Main St and Doswell are as follows:
Business passengers into Richmond are probably going downtown. Staples Mill is in the 'burbs. If I was in Va.Beach or Norfolk and had government business I'm definately going downtown. Acca Yard is still a nightmare for passenger trains because the shops are on the west and the freight yard is on the east side of the main, causing the main to be constantly used for moves between the two. Ashland's rail alignment may have made sense in the 1860s but not today. The whole point is to improve OTP through the Richmond area.

My plan:
Give Ashland a .5B tunnel/trench and move on.*
New Amtrak station where CSX meets I-295 (Glen Allen VA)
Retain RVR for commuter trains
Focus service at RVM
Infill station at RIC airport.

Going around Ashland on powerline and I-95 or other alignments is a mess and bypasses Randolph Maon

Arlington » Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:26 pm

To your points:
Ashland and RVR wouid still be served by the Regionals, just not the Silvers, Carolinian or Palmetto. These LD trains would stop at RVM instead. There are no commuter trains. (VRE only runs as far south as Spotsylvania) Randolph Macon would lose no service. The NPN line past the airport is too far from the terminal. Trench or tunnel at Ashland would destroy the historic downtown. I understand your idea for a station at I-295 is probably about ease of highway access, but Staples Mill Road (US33) is a divided highway with easy access from I-295 and I-64.

R&DB wrote:

Arlington » Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:26 pm

To your points:
Ashland and RVR wouid still be served by the Regionals, just not the Silvers, Carolinian or Palmetto. These LD trains would stop at RVM instead. There are no commuter trains. (VRE only runs as far south as Spotsylvania) Randolph Macon would lose no service. The NPN line past the airport is too far from the terminal. Trench or tunnel at Ashland would destroy the historic downtown. I understand your idea for a station at I-295 is probably about ease of highway access, but Staples Mill Road (US33) is a divided highway with easy access from I-295 and I-64.

No LD train stops at Ashland, only NE Regionals.

Arlington wrote:Incidentally, I think that the start of the new Norfolk/NPN schedule on March 4th (a week from now) means that Acca is "done" along with whatever else CSX and NS had demanded before another train could go south of Richmond.

https://augustafreepress.com/virginia-a ... g-march-4/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It looks like March 4th is indeed when Acca Yard will be finished by saving precious time on routes which go through this area. New locomotives are also going to be purchased by Amtrak in the future as well which should speed up the trains along with other infrastructure projects. Amtrak does incrementally upgrade over time but has many multiyear projects scheduled.

Acca was probably the largest bottleneck in the southeast although others have been completed already and others still being worked on. While Acca was under construction, trains were likely slowed down further than before so this will be a major improvement.