Government officials in Northern Virginia are working on a new public transportation network as part of a plan to redevelop sections of Arlington and Alexandria.

The system will consist of light rail, buses, Metro trains and shuttles. It will connect Bailey’s Crossroads in Fairfax County, Columbia Pike, Pentagon City and Crystal City in Arlington, and Potomac Yard in Alexandria.

“Ideally, you can connect from Skyline [in Fairfax] all the way over to Potomac Yard,” Arlington County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman told The Examiner. “You have density out there that needs to be served, and you’ve got to relieve that density.”

Planning for the network is still in the early phases. Zimmerman said financing options for railcars along Columbia Pike, which have already been approved in concept by Arlington and Fairfax, are being explored. New bus services are expected to connect Crystal City — an area expected to undergo significant redevelopment due to the loss of jobs and leased office space from military base alignment — with Potomac Yard. Finally, expanded bus service along Route 1 and Potomac Avenue is expected to be put in place as the redevelopment of Potomac Yard proceeds.

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Improving people’s ability to get around in Crystal City is an important part of the area’s redevelopment, Zimmerman said. He said other transportation options beyond buses could be considered as plans move forward.

“We’re going to jack up the bus service” initially, he said. “We’ll then work on what happens in the more long term.”

Mary Katharine Puskar, a land-use attorney for the Potomac Yard development, said Alexandria City Council has already approved improved bus routes.

“The idea is that there is going to be Virginia Rapid Bus transit that runs through Arlington and Alexandria” along Route 1, she said.

dfrancis@dcexaminer.com