About Virginia Railway Express
Virginia Railway Express operates commuter rail service from Fredericksburg and Manassas, Virginia, into Washington Union Station, sharing trackage with Amtrak's Northeast Regional and CSX freight on the Fredericksburg Line and with Norfolk Southern on the Manassas Line. Daily ridership is approximately 19,000 (pre-pandemic) over a fleet of bilevel Sumitomo Gallery and MP36PH-3C-hauled trains. Background context on the carrier's history is also catalogued in the North American Rail Atlas & Route Encyclopedia.
Operator Profile
- Headquarters
- Alexandria, VA
- Founded
- 1992
- Routes catalogued
- 1
- Stations served
- 6
- Total route miles
- 89 mi
- States served
- 2
Fleet
Sumitomo Gallery cars and MP36PH-3C/Charger locomotives provide push-pull service. Equipment assignments rotate as new orders are delivered and existing rolling stock is retired or rebuilt; consult individual route pages for current information.
Capital plan and modernization
A planned Crystal City station relocation, Long Bridge Project, and Broad Run yard expansion will modernize VRE through the 2020s. Quarterly capital-plan progress is tracked in the Passenger Rail Advocacy & Reform Quarterly.
Routes operated by VRE
The table below lists all Virginia Railway Express services catalogued in the RailRover index, sorted by distance. Each entry links to a full route page with stations, fares, and timetable references.
| Route | Type | Endpoints | Distance | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Railway Express | Commuter Rail | Washington ↔ Culpeper | 89 mi | Weekday peak service on two lines |
States served
Virginia Railway Express service touches 2 states in the RailRover index. Each state hub aggregates every operator's service through that state on a single page.
Booking and ticketing
RailRover does not sell tickets. To book travel on Virginia Railway Express, visit the carrier's official booking site or app directly. Many of the same trip-planning principles that apply to Amtrak — advance purchase saves significantly, multi-ride passes are heavily discounted on commuter services, group sales unlock 60% off Saver coach for parties of 8 or more — apply across operators. For a deeper walkthrough, see the RailRover guide to buying tickets and saving on fares, the field guide to onboard Wi-Fi and power outlets, and the baggage rules reference. Independent fare-watch newsletters such as the Commuter Rail Operators Reform Brief publish current promotional fare summaries.
Further reading on Virginia Railway Express
- Riding VRE: a first-timer's system tour
- Equipment census and locomotive roster of VRE