CHRISTIANSBURG — Town officials plan to continue efforts that they — and numerous others across the New River Valley — hope will lead to an extended Amtrak route beyond the one that currently runs between Roanoke and Boston.
The town has an agreement with Christiansburg-based Community Housing Partners (CHP) to buy land for a potential station site that the affordable housing organization owns near the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. Christiansburg council members recently said money for the purchase will likely come from a town budget amendment expected to be presented in about a month. Acquiring the land now can help the town avoid a sudden large bill should Christiansburg win approval for an Amtrak stop and station later, Mayor Mike Barber said. “To me, that makes sense. It will help,” he said. “The more site prep we can do and in conjunction with other localities, then that’s less money.” The tract of interest is currently divided into a handful of unoccupied parcels located just north of the aquatic center between Mill Lane and existing railroad tracks. Altogether, the parcels total 9.3 acres, according to a town map.The land is also adjacent to a group of six lots totaling 1.2 acres that the town has already bought for $160,000. Pending council approval, the town plans to pay $200,000 for the CHP land, town senior staff said. All of the land, including the parcels the town plans to buy from CHP, will be for uses such as parking and station access .
In the meantime, the town is grading a portion of the already purchased land as part of plans to provide extra parking for the aquatic center, town staff said. “We also know that the aquatic center frequently has overflow parking needs,” Councilman Brad Stipes said. “So if tomorrow never comes for the train station, we’ll have property down there for overflow parking.” No immediate use has been determined for the CHP land, should the purchase be completed.
The town’s preparation for a potential Amtrak station also comes as supporters are awaiting on the results of a $350,000 state-backed study that will determine the improvements needed to expand passenger rail to the New River Valley and beyond to Bristol.
“That is the piece that is critical at this point,” said Larry Hincker, a former Virginia Tech spokesman who’s now involved with an organization called New River Valley Rail 2020. “What that means is simply looking at how passenger rail might be incorporated, and what improvements might be necessary.” Hincker is unsure about the study’s status, but he said the money to accomplish it was approved for the fiscal year that began July 1.
NRV Rail 2020 is the primary advocacy group for bringing Amtrak to Southwest Virginia, augmenting the recently added run based in Roanoke. Over the past few months, Hincker has made presentations concerning passenger rail in the region to Christiansburg Town Council and the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors. Among the advantages NRV Rail 2020 has touted for a New River Valley station is the presence of Virginia Tech and Radford University students — many of whom travel to the campuses from outside the region. The organization also says that passenger rail provides an alternative to Interstate 81 and can fuel economic growth.
Additional key criteria for the study will be determining potential New River Valley ridership. How much of the Roanoke stop’s current ridership originates in the New River Valley will be important data.
Source: Christiansburg continues hopeful preparation for Amtrak station | News | roanoke.com