Should the VRE Manassas Line have a station in Clifton?

[CHIP72]

A few weeks ago (10/24/08) I took my first-ever ride on VRE, riding from Union Station to Manassas, so I could check out VRE for the first time, development along the Manassas Line, and the downtown part of Manassas for a few hours. (The bi-level coaches on VRE, or at least the one I was in, was quite odd IMO; the upper level where I sat was set up much different than the bi-level coaches MARC operates on its system. Like many of the VRE bi-levels, it also had a single center-car entrance, not two end-car entrances.) One thing that struck me was once you get past the Metrorail-served portion of the Manassas Line (i.e. west of Alexandria) is how the line runs through what were once rural areas and the stations are essentially park-and-ride facilities seemingly in the middle of nowhere (though that's not actually the case, at least from looking at a map). Besides Manassas itself and perhaps Manassas Park, the line didn't pass through any true towns except the small town of Clifton, located in far southwestern Fairfax County. Considering the seemingly haphazard locations of most of the stations, I was particularly surprised that there wasn't a station in Clifton. My questions are, A) should there be a station there and B) why didn't VRE put a station there in the first place? If there was a station there, it obviously could serve that small community, but probably could only have a small park-and-ride lot, to not destroy the nature of the town. I wonder if Clifton actually fought against having a station there and/or if the residents/town leaders are fighting to have a station built there now.

[davinp]

The reason their is no station at Clifton is because this little town didn't want one. Besides, there would no place to park your car if there was a station.

The bi-levels that VRE uses are Gallery cars and that is the only type of car they have. They have 61 new cars in service and have 30 old cars from Chicago and only 10 of those are in service, the rest in storage.

By the way, every October Cliton has a festival were they have VRE trains stop by and give rides

[charding]

...plus the land around the old station site Clifton is wetlands. However, if there were one, it would be busy since the road through Clifton is heavily used by commuters. Too bad also because Clifton is a neat little town and some of the little restaurants et al would probably get much business from commuters. Of all the stations along this VRE line, only two are at their original sites - Alexandria and Manassas; the original station sites at Burke and Fairfax Station were not used - again, as Clifton, very limited room for parking.

If you are a Civil War buff, this part of the line was part of the original Orange & Alexandria Railroad (ran between Gordonsville & Alexandria) and was a strategic asset for moving men and materiel during the war - fought over continuously - lots of Civil War sites along its entire length including the Fairfax Station Railroad Museum, the original Fairfax Station, but moved from its original site up the hill overlooking the railline - a good visit and on Virginia's Civil War trail. Colin Harding, Fairfax Station, VA

[Joke Insurance]

Could a flag-stop station be more appropriate for Clifton?

[Literalman]

I can't imagine VRE having flag stops. A station has to have a large number of riders to make it worth stopping the train. And since VRE requires passengers to buy (usually without cash) and validate tickets before riding, a station needs at least one expensive vending machine, not to mention lighting, etc. Furthermore, VRE's self-described mission is to make driving easier ("traffic mitigation"), so basically the passengers it wants are drivers, who mostly park at the stations, and there's no place to do that in Clifton. Besides the people who would walk to the Clifton station, there would be a lot of out-of-towners parking on local streets.

Newington is so close to Franconia-Springfield, and VRE's service level is so low compared to Metro's, that there would not be a big market there for commuter rail.

[electricron]

At the last census in 2010, Clifton, VA had a population of 282. If the VRE only spent one million dollars installing a platform for a minimum train station in Clifton, they would be spending $3,500 per person in the town. If only 10% of the population in the town ever rode the VRE trains, 28 of them, VRE would be spending $35,700 per rider in the town.

Let's face reality, Clifton, VA is a small town and is not a small city. It is not large enough to warrant a train station. It is barely large enough to warrant a paved road.

[charding]

Clifton would be a perfect place for a train station - and has a long history of having one. Consider the amount to traffic that comes thru Clifton every morning/evening…just ask those of us who are familiar with the twice-daily commuter rush…talk about a ready market. The big problem is that there is not enough room for a present-day commuter train station…and there is a wetlands issue which may preclude the building of a station. But I bet a lot of the merchants in Clifton would love to have a train station there…for those who might be interested, there are number of great places to eat in Clifton.

[The EGE]

Electricon: that figure only includes Clifton proper - a very small square encompassing just the downtown area. The actual population living on suburban streets is rather higher.

[electricron]

Electricon: that figure only includes Clifton proper - a very small square encompassing just the downtown area. The actual population living on suburban streets is rather higher.

Clifton, VA doesn't even have a gas station or a 7/11? It's so small there's not even a stop light.
There are train stations in Fairfax Station and Manassas less than 10 miles away in town, or small cities with populations worthy of train stations.

[Station Aficionado]

As davinp noted several years back, the people in Clifton simply don't want a station. They think it would attract too much traffic (apparently not noticing the numbers of commuters streaming through each day). While "Greater Clifton" has many more people than the town proper, I don't see it as a good spot for a station. Outside the town itself, the area is characterized by low-density/large-lot homes. That means most folks who might take the train would have to drive there, and there's not room for a large parking lot (nor would the townfolk likely tolerate such a lot).

[chucksc]

FWIW most of those Clftonians who ride the train board at either Burke Center or Manassas Park. Historically they have fought a station in their village claiming it would ruin the ambiance. They don't have a 7-11 because the local bar/general store has enough clout with the citizens to piggy back onto the local isolationist sentiment. As the through traffic worsens this might change.