Rail service sold out for swearing-in

Commuter rail service from Fredericksburg is sold out for Inauguration Day, as travelers look for ways to enter and leave the nation's capital without a vehicle.

The Virginia Railway Express sold its last ticket yesterday for 15 trains scheduled to run each way on Tuesday, when two major interstates and all of the bridges to Washington will be closed to personal vehicles.

About 17,500 people have tickets to ride VRE trains that day from Fredericksburg or other stations on the system's two train lines from the Virginia suburbs into Washington.

The fun on the highways actually will begin Sunday, when two major bridges from Virginia into the city will be closed because of a concert on the National Mall to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama.

State police and transportation officials said yesterday that the Roosevelt and Memorial bridges will be closed Sunday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. for "We are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial." Pedestrians may use Roosevelt Bridge by sidewalk but not Memorial Bridge.

Vehicles traveling east into Washington on Interstate 66 will be diverted to the 14th Street Bridge by state Route 110 and Interstate 395, which will be open to personal vehicles on Sunday but not on Inauguration Day. I-66 also will be closed east of the Capital Beltway on Tuesday from 3 a.m. until 7 p.m.

GRTC Transit System will operate two buses from Richmond to the Fredericksburg VRE station that morning, as well as two buses to a park-and-ride lot at state Route 208 in Caroline County. The commuter buses will follow their normal schedules, which include departures from Brook and Parham roads in northern Henrico County at 4:05 and 5:05 a.m.

Contact Michael Martz at (804) .