Welcome to CvilleRail ...dedicated to the extension and enhancement of intercity passenger rail for the Virginia US29 Corridor.
Founded by a group of Charlottesville area citizens and local leaders, CvilleRail launched a local campaign in 2005 to bring regional passenger rail service to the US29 Corridor. For almost 40 years, the corridor was served by only one daily train, the Amtrak Crescent. One of Amtrak's long-distance trains, the Crescent connects New Orleans to New York, with daily stops in Charlottesville. The Amtrak Cardinal between Chicago and New York stops in Charlottesville three days a week.
Both of these services were severely lacking in accessibility (too few seats were reserved for Charlottesville patrons), comfort and reliable on-time performance. Passenger demand for these trains far exceeded the supply of seats. Furthermore, surveys of Charlottesville's business community established that over 60% of the businesses regularly send their employees or associates to Washington, DC for business purposes, yet they rarely travel there by train. Clearly, there was a need for enhanced passenger rail to Washington for Charlottesville and other communities in the US29 corridor, and CvilleRail set out to make it happen!
After two years spent raising public awareness through events, media releases and public presentations, CvilleRail generated enough interest throughout the US 29 Corridor to create a coalition of local governments, institutions and organizations to work together to bring enhanced passenger rail to the corridor. The Piedmont Rail Coalition was founded by CvilleRail in 2007, and CvilleRail continues to host, administer and fund the Coaliton.
Our efforts succeeded in bringing a new daily regional rail service, an extension of Amtrak's Northeast Regional route, to the corridor. The new service began as a Demonstration Project on October 1, 2009.