VRE Apologizes to Riders for Tuesday's Delays

Virginia Railway Express officials issued an apology Wednesday for massive delays that caused many Manassas Park residents to get home hours late Tuesday evening.

 “VRE deeply apologizes for the delays last night. While we know that words are of little comfort when you have felt stranded, we know we need to at least start there,” VRE officials said in Train Talk, an email notification newsletter it sent out to its customers Wednesday afternoon.

 The delays start at about 4:30 p.m. when a  CSX train stalled while changing tracks—which happened to be at a location that’s a critical junction for Manassas and Fredericksburg line trains.

 Officials with both companies thought it would be a quick fix that would be resolved within 20 minutes; instead officials said the fix took about three hours.

 It caused passengers boarding and leaving the trains near Alexandria to be delayed, CSX officials said in their own statement to travelers.

 The VRE would have had to cancel evening services completely if not for a third railroad track in the area offcials said Wednesday. It was this third track that allowed the trains to keep running even though they were running late.

 Fredericksburg line trains were running an average of 30 to 70 minutes late, but one train wad delayed some three hours.

Many customers expressed their discontent with the VRE after they weren’t able to receive Train Talk alerts, a service that allows the company to keep its riders posted on delays and other events.

 VRE officials said they are working with Train Talk service providers to get to the bottom of the communication issue.

Manassas Park resident and VRE rider Jim Kirkland said he received the Train Talk alert, but it didn't provide any information about the status of the 5:05 p.m. train he usually catches home from Union Station in Washington, D.C.

When he arrived at Union Tuesday, the signs said that the 5:05 was on time, but when he and other riders made it down to the tracks, a Fredricksburg Line train was sitting there instead of their train home, Kirkland said. 

The conductors weren't immediately able to provide information about the status of the 5:05 train, leaving Kirkland and others confused.

"I love the VRE, I wouldn't be able to do my job in the district (without it) ... but sometimes they do things that just don't make any sense," Kirkland said. "The messaging to the riders was poor."

Someone eventually figured out their train hadn't made it back into the district and so he and others boarded the 5:3o p.m. train.

"Somebody knew what was going on. Just let me know so I can tell my wife," Kirkland said.

He isn't sure why VRE officials didn't pass out ride vouchers to passengers on the train, as they usually do, Kirkland said.  Instead, he has to send in a form to get a voucher from the company.

Riders of all the trains except one received ride vouchers for their troubles.

Riders who were forced to take the metro and other modes of transportation home were told to send their receipts to VRE for a reimbursement.

 Anyone who didn’t receive a voucher and feels they should have, can click here to download a PDF from the VRE website so they can receive one.