The (VRE) is a
Commuter Railroad service that connects the
Northern Virginia area with
Washington, DC . The VRE operates on two lines, the Fredericksburg line, which starts from
Fredericksburg, Virginia and the Manassas line, which starts from
Manassas, Virginia , both lines end at
Union Station in
Washington, DC . Fredericksburg is considered the southernmost suburb of Washington (and the northernmost suburb of
Richmond ). It is a transportation partnership
of the
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and the
Potomac And Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC).
Its organization consists of the which consists of seven commissioners
Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT) and three commissioners each from NVTC and PRTC , which oversees all operating aspects of the Virginia Railway Express, and the '''VRE Operations Group,''' which reports to the Board and handles the daily operations of the VRE.
The fare structure is distance-based. Stations are divided up into nine zones. Through a
cross-honoring agreement extended through April 2006, VRE and
MARC honor each other's tickets traveling in each direction.
On January 5th, 2006 at 6:45am, VRE's Fredericksburg line train #304 bound for Washington D.C. derailed at Possum Point just north of Quantico, Virginia. Four people, including one conductor suffered minor injuries and were treated and released by medical personnel. The NTSB is investigating the cause of the derailment - the first in VRE's 13 year history.
The Fredericksburg Line runs north-south along trackage owned by
CSX .
The Manassas Line runs east-west along trackage owned by
Norfolk Southern .
