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The number of daily rail riders spiked by more than 1,500 people over last April, or 12 percent, as the Virginia Railway Express reported its 10th consecutive month of climbing use.
The increase came despite a dramatic rise in delays that left one in five trains late to the station.
Twice in April, daily trips hit the 16,000 mark for the first time since 2005, which officials attribute to typical driving commutes taking longer and costing more, according to Chief Executive Officer Dale Zehner’s report being presented to the governing board today.
“Commuters are saying, ‘I’m going to try something new,’ ” said Mark Roeber, spokesman for the rail line. “What you’re seeing is there is considerable construction work going on that’s adding additional pressure to highways that can’t handle it. And that’s of course compounded by gas prices.”
Transportation projects dot the region, from widening Interstate 95 in Fairfax County to Capital Beltway projects associated with the Woodrow Wilson Bridge expansion and the creation of high occupancy toll lanes.
The high price of commuter rail has kept drivers behind the wheel, said Lon Anderson, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
“In many cases you can drive more cheaply than you can take mass transit, but the high gas prices have now suddenly made mass transit more attractive,” he said.
Daily one-way fares on VRE range from $2.40 to $8.80, with discounts for regular and monthly riders.
However, the rail line continues to struggle with on-time performance, with delays spiking 67 percent from March to April as 126 trains of just over 600 were delayed.
Federally mandated technical reviews of the rail lines indicated problems in April that spurred a series of speed reductions, which contributed to the delays. Roeber said only three of those speed reductions remain in effect.
The average delay in April was 14 minutes.
The line has fallen below its goal of 90 percent on-time performance every month so far this year.
dgenz@dcexaminer.com
