 proposed high-speed rail routes to Hampton Roads (CSX line located on Peninsula north of James River, Norfolk Southern line located south of river) Source: base map from National Atlas, routes from Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Richmond/Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project |
 proposed Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, showing Petersburg-Norfolk as a spur line and Richmond-Raleigh as main line Source: Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor |
Until 2013, Newport News will have Amtrak service... and Norfolk will not.
Federal, state, and local governments are planning to upgrade existing service and provide "high-speed" passenger rail service in southeastern Virginia. "High speed" means 110 miles per hour, compared to conventional 79 mile per hour speed for Amtrak outside the Acela corridor. In the short run, passenger service to Norfolk will be at conventional speed over existing Norfolk Southern freight rail tracks between Petersburg-Norfolk, until a separate passenger-trains-only track can be financed and constructed parallel to the current freight rail line.
Proposals to invest in rail improvements can expose a common political split in the Hampton Roads region: the Peninsula and South-of-the-James-River interests do not always align. Regional leaders struggle to adopt common regional priorities for transportation investments, since some of the most expensive proposals (such as a Third Tunnel) would benefit some sections of Hampton Roads more than others... but the political conflicts are revealed when there are not enough resources to finance multiple projects that would satisfy all regional interests. These modern conflicts between North Hampton Roads and South Hampton Roads echo the sectional battles prior to the Civil War, between the political elite who focused on funding canals to serve the Potomac River (Alexandria) vs. James River (Richmond) business interests.
 Tide route, headed east from Harbor Park for Norfolk State University |
 Harbor Park Tide station under construction, September 2010 |
In the Richmond Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project, state and Federal officials are proposing to provide higher-speed rail to both Newport News and Norfolk. Norfolk has visionary plans, and has budgeted $16 million to create a transportation hub at Harbor Park. This will allow passengers to transfer between the local light rail "Tide" system to (ultimately) high-speed rail, as well as local ferries and bus lines. The State of Virginia has already committed over $100 million for Amtrak service in Norfolk to start by October 2013, and Norfolk is building a new intercity passenger rail station at Harbor Park.1
If implemented, Norfolk would become more more accessible from Central and Northern Virginia - and more attractive to businesses, especially Defense agencies and their contractors. However, funding shortfalls still may force state officials into making a hard choice between improving rail infrastructure north vs. south of the James River.
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The basic problem: Hampton Roads south of the James River is the "end of the line." Norfolk/Virginia Beach are at the edge of the urban megalopolis that stretches from Boston to Washington (the "Bo-Wash Corridor" or "Urban Crescent"). Development is extending south to Richmond and... maybe Raleigh?
Civic leaders in South Hampton Roads (south of the James River) want the expanding pattern of development to veer southeast, so the cities of Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach can reap the economic benefits associated with growth. From a transportation perspective, Norfolk and Virginia Beach have ended up being at the far edge of the urbanized metropolitan area that extends from Boston down I-95, then from Richmond east down I-64. (Technically, I-64 ends in Suffolk, after looping around Norfolk and heading west...) The developed area of Hampton Roads south of the James River is isolated by swamps to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the marginally-populated Eastern Shore to the north. The cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Suffolk are not in the vibrant middle of any road network. South Hampton Roads is a destination; business and visitor travellers rom north/south and east/west do not go there casually. One sign of the isolation: Norfolk is the largest metropolitan community in the United States without a professional major league sports team. The location of Norfolk was bypassed at the beginning of colonial development. The settlers who arrived in 1607 moved upstream to Jamestown, away from the threat of Spanish raiders. By 1775, the high-quality natural harbor had stimulated some town development. At the start of 1776, however, British sailors under Lord Dunmore and the rebellious Virginians both participated in the almost-total destruction of Norfolk. The city was rebuilt after the American Revolution, and by 1800 had more people than Richmond. However, the capital of Virginia boomed in comparison to Norfolk thoughout the 1800's. Norfolk's population did not climb faster than Richmond's until larger steamships required deeper channels, and railroads connected Norfolk to the interior. Getting rail to Norfolk involved complicated political and economic maneuvers, and today's mistrust between Norfolk and state officials has a long history. |
 Source: Bureau of Census, Rank by Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places, Listed Alphabetically by State: 1790-1990 |
Throughout the 1800's, Richmond and Petersburg (as well as Baltimore) viewed Norfolk as an economic rival. Shipping companies wanted to maximize the number of loads that ships could carry between coastal ports and across the Atlantic Ocean. Sailing up the James River to the Fall Line created a costly delay, compared to sailing directly from Norfolk. Richmond/Petersburg feared that ship owners would shift business to Norfolk, if cargo could reach that port directly via railroads. In the 1800's, Richmond and Petersburg conspired to block any railroad link between Norfolk and the hinterland west of the Fall Line, recognizing that a railroad connection would allow Norfolk to grow at the expense of the Fall Line ports.
Port cities in Virginia have long competed for shipping traffic. Physical geography made Norfolk a more-attractive port location, in part because its harbor was naturally so deep. Prior to the Civil War, Richmond built a new port at the head of the York River at West Point, to provide a deeper harbor that was closer to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay - but Norfolk would always be closer to the Atlantic Ocean.
in the 1800's, Richmond/Petersburg and Norfolk sought to dominate and control trade from the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia. Rather than cooperate and build a network of lines that would benefit everyone, Richmond/Petersburg and Norfolk tried to exclude the other from connecting to boats that travelled down the Roanoke River.
Norfolk managed to construct a rail line to the Roanoke River to tap into the trade from that watershed down to the Fall Line at Weldon and Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Richmond/Petersburg financial interests found a way to purchase that rail line. The new owners then physically tore up the portion of the Norfolk line near the Roanoke River, in order to force traffic to use the Petersburg and Roanoke railroad.
Further inland, North Carolina demonstrated the same approach. It blocked development of a direct rail connection from its upper Piedmont to Virginia's ports, even though the North Carolina farmers would benefit from lower-cost transportation. Instead of allowing construction of a new rail line between Greensboro-Danville, North Carolina financed a state railroad to connect the western part of the state to Atlantic Coast ports in North Carolina. This was an early "smart growth" strategy, leveraging investments in transportation infrastructure to stimulate economic growth that - ideally - would create enough new tax revenues to repay the costs of the transportation project.
North Carolina officials feared the economic impacts of a rail connection to Danville, which was already connected to Richmond and Petersburg. Once a rail line was built, it was clear that North Carolina farmers would ship more crops and import more manufactured items through Chesapeake Bay ports. This would reduce business at the North Carolina ports of Wilmington and Morehead City, and the state investment in the rail connections to North Carolina ports would be wasted.
To the dismay of North Carolina politicians, and over vehement objections of states rights advocates in the Confederate Congress, the Confederate Government built the Piedmont Railroad between Greensboro and Danville during the Civil War. The "national" government of the Confederacy under President Jefferson Davis mandated the new rail connection as a military necessity. The Confederate government saw the railroad connection as a war measure more important that states rights, since the Confederate Army needed food and material from the Deep South states. By 1862, after the Yankee blockade and capture of coastal ports such as Norfolk, the Confederate government needed interior lines of communication to supply the troops on the front line in Virginia.
After the Civil War, Northern investors were able to purchase Virginia railroads (and a few officials in state government) and obtain new railroad charters. Norfolk was finally able to connect its rail lines to the interior. After that, Hampton Roads ports would grow, while Richmond/Petersburg would stagnate. The railroad to West Point ended up as a dead end, servicing just a paper manufacturing plant.
Norfolk benefitted from coal exports starting in the 1880's, after the Norfolk and Western (now Norfolk Southern) built a connection between the Appalachian coal fields and export terminals at Lamberts Point. Later, the Virginian Railway built more coal shipping capacity at Sewell's Point. Newport News developed when the Chesapeake and Ohio (now CSX) rail line was constructed down the Peninsula, creating a deepwater port that could compete with Norfolk and out-compete Richmond/Petersburg.
Alexandria, Petersburg, and Richmond declined as port cities between 1865 and 1900, while Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News (with 45' deep channels) benefitted from new rail connections to the docks at their ports. The C&O Raiload built its coal export facility at Newport News, while the Norfolk and Western Railroad built its coal export docks at Lamberts Point in Norfolk in the 1880's.
Today, Virginia politicians are quite aware of the potential economic impacts associated with construction of new railroad capacity. To overcome its isolation, Norfolk is fighting to be connected to a high-speed rail network being planned by the Federal and state governments. Whether high-speed rail is designed for passengers to relieve pressure on the airports, or even for freight to reduce the truck traffic congesting the Interstates, Norfolk want to be sure it's not bypassed by an inland rail route again.
The James River greatly complicates the plans of Norfolk, however. A quick glimpse at the map shows a rail line down the Peninsula already connects Hampton and Newport News to Richmond and points north. That's rail line was built by the C&O, which has been absorbed by the CSX Railroad. The interstate highways were routed the same way, and tunnels/bridges connected I-64 on the Peninsula to Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and other communities of south Hampton Roads.
However, there's no easy way to get a railroad across the water barrier of the James River. Unlike automobiles, high-speed trains can't climb overpasses or dip into steeply-slanting tunnels. Railroad locomotives require flat grades; there is no railroad bridge crossing the James River downstream of Richmond today. Amtrak stops at Newport News. Theoretically, engineers could design a railroad bridge crossing the James River between the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads, with a grade no greater than 1%, so Amtrak could provide service to Norfolk. However, a railroad drawbridge with a clearance of 60' above the water (comparable to the Route 17/James River Bridge) would require over a mile of track with a steady 1% grade on either side of the river. The land acquisition costs for such a project would be considerable...
Building a new railroad bridge or tunnel to carry high-speed trains from the Peninsula across the James River to "Southern Hampton Roads" would require a dramatic engineering breakthrough, if it's to be achieved at a reasonable cost, or a massive investment in purchase of new right-of-way and construction. Realistically, extension of a rail line from the Peninsula to Norfolk, linking the two halves of Hampton Roads by crossing the James River, is unrealistic.
Norfolk has chosen a different option for obtaining high-speed rail. An existing Norfolk Southern line paralleling US 460 could be upgraded, going south to Petersburg and then east to Norfolk/Virginia Beach.
Compared to building a rail bridge/tunnel over the James River, construction costs for upgrading the rail line south of the James River (parallel to US 460) would be smaller - but still substantial. One major drawback: the population south of the James from the Fall Line eastward is sparse until reaching Suffolk. The trains would service very few customers between Petersburg and Suffolk. In contrast, a high-speed rail line on the Peninsula would serve customers along a much higher percentage of the proposed route.
If money were no object, the Federal/state/local governments might build both routes - but funding is constrained. Because money is limited, Hampton Roads may have to choose one high-speed rail route that benefits a portion of the region far more substantially than the rest. Either Newport News, or Norfolk, might become a high-speed rail destination... but maybe not both. If the region can't choose and lobby hard for one route, then Federal funding for high-speed rail will probably go to other places in the United States such as the Los Angeles-Las Vegas route, and both Norfolk and Newport News will continue to rely upon regular-speed rail service.
(Why isn't Virginia Beach considered a destination? That city no longer has rail service between Norfolk and the resort area on the Atlantic Coast shoreline. The old rail line has been abandoned. The city of Virginia Beach has purchased the route, and may use it for an extension of the Norfolk light rail system known as the Tide.)
