Groundbreaking Of Fourth Rail, Other Major Alexandria Station Projects Held

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A groundbreaking for significant improvements at and around the Alexandria Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak station was held Wednesday morning.

The groundbreaking was for the Alexandria Fourth Track project, VRE Alexandria Station improvements, King and Commonwealth bridges replacement and the King and Commonwealth Streetscape Improvements. Federal, state and regional officials attended, including from VRE, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, Virginia Department of Transportation, Amtrak Virginia, CSX and more.

The Alexandria Fourth Track project will add six new miles of railroad track and related infrastructure in Arlington and Alexandria, with one new track joining the existing three tracks. The project runs from the southern end of the Long Bridge Project which is adding rail capacity between Virginia and D.C., to west of Alexandria Union Station. The current three tracks experience bottlenecks and delays for passenger and freight trains due to VRE's Fredericksburg and Manassas Lines converging at the location.

VRE's Alexandria Station improvements project will adjust platform elevators and add elevators to both platforms. This will remove the timber pedestrian grade crossing across Track 3 and Track 2. Passenger trains primarily use Tracks 2 and 3. VRE says the improvement will give more flexibility for passenger trains to use Track 1 and remove the need for step-boxes to access trains.

The future fourth track will be next to Track 1 and not have platform access. VRE's expected construction start date is late November through late September 2027.

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is also pursuing new rail bridges spanning King Street and Commonwealth Avenue near the station in collaboration with CSXT. The bridge replacements will be constructed by VRE as part of the Alexandria Station improvements project. According to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, replacing the bridges will minimize rail service disruptions, reduce maintenance, bring them up to date to modern standards and improve safety for pedestrians and drivers under the bridges.

The King and Commonwealth Streetscape Improvements is a City of Alexandria-led project. It seeks to widen sidewalks and add protected bicycle lanes at the King and Commonwealth Avenue intersection to improve safety for different road users. According to the city's project webpage, the new rail bridge project will provide a wider bridge span, creating more space to improve spaces under the bridge.

The city has already made improvements to the adjacent King Street-Old Town Metro station, with a new configuration for bus loops and pedestrian connections.