qm_fall_2016

15 / 32

Virginia C apitol C onnections, Fall 2016 15
John Edwards (21st District), Delegates Nick Rush (7th District)
and Joseph Yost (12th District) and Court Rosen of the CTB were
featured in a panel discussion about the impact of bringing Amtrak
passenger service to Christiansburg to diversify the New River Valley
transportation network.
“It is this very spirit of cooperation that makes our communities
desirable places to live and do business,” Hemphill said. “Like our
colleagues, we see passenger rail as a safe and affordable transportation
option that will connect the economies of the Mid-Atlantic corridor
with the research and scholarship we at Radford and Virginia Tech are
undertaking to lead the knowledge economy.”
NRV Rail 2020 is a collaboration of senior officials from the
counties of Montgomery and Pulaski; towns of Christiansburg,
Blacksburg and Pulaski; City of Radford; Radford University and
Virginia Tech; Virginia Tech Foundation; New River Valley Economic
Development Alliance; The Blacksburg Partnership; Montgomery
County Chamber of Commerce; the New River Valley Regional
Commission and the New River Valley Metropolitan Planning
Organization, with support from the offices of Senators Tim Kaine and
Mark Warner; Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Morgan Griffith;
State Senators Bill Carrico, Ben Chafin and John Edwards; and
Delegates Terry Austin, Chris Head,Will Morefield, Todd Pillion, Sam
Rasoul, Nick Rush and Joseph Yost.
“Long-term and from a national perspective, this makes sense,”
Griffith said. “It benefits all sections of Southwest Virginia, all of
Virginia and the region with additional economic development. It will
be a positive step forward.”
JeremyLatimer of theDepartment of Rail andPublicTransportation
joined the panel for a discussion about passenger rail service’s potential
and the process to bring it to a proposed Christiansburg station. David
Bailey, host of This Week in Richmond, a weekly TV series about
Virginia politics and issues, hosted the legislative panel.
“If you look at history, good transportation systems
have made prosperity possible,” said Edwards, who
recounted the ridership success of Amtrak passenger rail
service to Lynchburg.
Edwards cited an annual ridership of over 100,000 as
compared to the preliminary survey that predicted 50,000
riders. The NRV Rail 2020 ridership survey, recently
completed by the New RiverValley Regional Commission,
projects an annual ridership of 40,000.
Christiansburg Mayor Mike Barber described the site
selected for the Amtrak service—at the midpoint of the
New River Valley—and lauded the collaborative process
by which it was selected from 29 potential station sites.
Delegate Yost talked about the universal appeal the
NRV Rail 2020 project has engendered.
“The Roanoke and New River valleys are one super
region. We have so many connections that tie us together,”
Yost said. “We can do this together at the local, state and
To present a united appeal, more than
70 leaders of municipalities and community
organizations representing the citizens of
the New River Valley convened for the New
River Rail 2020 Legislative Reception Aug.
16 in Radford University’s Kyle Hall.
The leaders reviewed the organization’s
initiatives to bring passenger train service
to the New River Valley, home of 180,000
residents and 40,000 college students.
A $350,000 Rail Traffic Control and Modeling study has been
approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) for
Fiscal Year 2019 and the group urged the CTB to fast track the critical
next step Passenger rail service is slated to begin in Roanoke in 2017.
Radford University President Brian O. Hemphill welcomed the
representatives of the bi-partisan, multi-jurisdictional group that
included U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (VA-9). Virginia State Senator
NRV Leaders
look to
passenger
rail service
to enhance
New River
Valley quality
of life
By Don Bowman
U.S. Rep.
Morgan Griffith (VA-9).
L-R: Montgomery County Supervisor Mary Biggs, Radford Mayor Bruce Brown, Radford
University President Brian O. Hemphill and Montgomery County Administrator Craig Meadows.
L-R: Jeremy Latimer, Va. Department of Rail and Public Transportation;
Virginia State Senator John Edwards (21st District); Court Rosen,
Commonwealth Transportation Board; Delegates Joseph Yost (12th District)
and Nick Rush (7th District).
See NRV Rail, continued on page 18