VRE Gainesville - Haymarket Extension Manassas Line

Progressive Railroading

I did see a few other extension topics, but they were a bit older and covered both this line and Fredericksburg. I thought I'd start a topic on just this line. I've been to the Manassas station on a few occasions, on NS' B line. There's a yard/junction beyond the station, but I honestly did not see much freight activity at all. The Amtrak station contains a museum and not much else; no ticketing facilities, not even a kiosk. They have three routes servicing the station. VRE serves the station to the North and East of the Amtrak station on high-level platforms that I think do have ticketing machines.

I'm not sure what if any yard / servicing facilities are available at Haymarket; would trains have to deadhead?

The article is quite brief:

VRE to kick off meetings on proposed Gainesville-Haymarket extension

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) will host a meeting Nov. 10 to inform the public about a proposed extension of commuter-rail service on the Manassas Line.

The VRE is evaluating an 11-mile extension along the Manassas Line via the Norfolk Southern Railway B-Line, extending from the city of Manassas through Gainesville to the town of Haymarket near the U.S. Route 15 and Interstate 66 intersection, VRE officials said in a post on the railroad’s website.

VRE initiated the Gainesville-Haymarket extension study in July. The study will evaluate possible station locations and service plans, identify track improvements and identify a locally preferred alternative. The study also will include preliminary engineering design of the extension, as well as an environmental impact assessment.

The Nov. 10 meeting will be the first of a series of community meetings. It will be held in Gainesville.

I don't remember seeing anything definite as to whether the trains servicing the extension would be maintained at Broad Run (at the Manassas airport a few miles west of Manassas) or be serviced on the new line. My guess is that rather than establish a new crew base and maintenance center, the trains will deadhead to and from Broad Run.

The VRE trains can (usually) be boarded right in front of the Manassas station, which is owned by the city and operated as a visitors' center. The other platforms aren't high-level, they just reduce the height from the platform to the first step on the train.

Thanks for the clarification on platforms; I do recall that the trains did span the length of both platforms. Amtrak I'm pretty sure only boarded at the station.

As for servicing, my guess also was deadheading.

Very pretty area, and building, although there were a few sketchy characters on occasion in the waiting area, which as I recall was separate from the Visitor Center.