CSX train derails VRE schedule

QUANTICO -- There was more trouble on the rails Friday morning, this time just south of Quantico.

Virginia Railway Express riders faced delays due to a CSX train that broke down on the tracks just before 5 a.m.

This forced VRE to put its trains on a third track to bypass the stalled train. It also meant more than 300 passengers left waiting to board their train at the Brooke station in Stafford County couldn't do so.

That's because the walkway to the third track was removed last month during track work, according to a VRE e-mail.

VRE wants to replace the walkway but said it is still waiting to receive the correct parts to fix the pedestrian crossing.

And though the passengers could have walked the short distance from the platform to the train, the e-mail said VRE felt it was safer to ask the passengers to move to the Leeland Road or Quantico stations to catch their train.

Those two stations are more than 20 miles apart by car.

"We knew this was an inconvenience for our Brooke riders, but we preferred to ensure that everyone could board the train safely," the e-mail said.

Though the disabled freight train caused only minor delays for VRE riders, this is the latest in a string of incidents that have affected service on commuter railroad.

On Monday, it was a VRE locomotive that broke down on the tracks -- this time near Manassas just before 6 a.m.

It took crews about 30 minutes to repair the train and send it on its way, a VRE spokesman said.

The breakdown caused "bunching" delays at the Manassas and Manassas Park stations, as more people than usual boarded the repaired train. The train became so full that VRE officials ordered it to skip the Burke station, leaving passengers waiting on the platform. Once the trains resumed normal service, the bunching delays subsided.

Later that afternoon, a midday VRE train bound for Fredericksburg broke down between the Rippon and Quantico stations.

An Amtrak train was ordered to rescue the passengers and carry them the remainder of their trip.

That delay caused the subsequent cancellation of another train that was scheduled to leave Union Station that night.
Uriah A. Kiser is a staff writer for the News & Messenger in Prince William County.