page_title: Transportation in Northern Virginia
section_title: Rail transportation
hierarchical_section_title: Transportation in Northern Virginia / Rail transportation
caption_attribution_description: English: Washington Metro. An inbound train arrives at National Airport station in Arlington, Virginia.
context_page_description: The Northern Virginia region is served by numerous mediums of transit. Transportation in the region is overseen by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
context_section_description: Presently, the region is served by seven different Amtrak corridors, which offer inter-city passenger rail service throughout the nation. The most popular intercity destinations include Philadelphia, New York, Lynchburg, Richmond, Raleigh and Norfolk. The region is also home to the northern-terminus of the Auto Train, which is based in Lorton. Additionally, Northern Virginia is served by the Virginia Railway Express, a commuter rail line. Finally, the region hosts several Washington Metro subway stations, specifically the Blue, Orange, Silver and Yellow lines. Future plans include a light rail system in Arlington and Alexandria to alleviate automobile and metro congestion in the densely populated region.
  Washington Metro, opening in 1978 to the area, also serving the region's core city, Washington, D.C. and the suburbs of Maryland is the second-busiest subway system in the nation; only New York City's subway system carries more passengers. In August 2014, WMATA opened its new Silver Line in northern Fairfax County, which has connected Reston and Tysons Corner to the system. By 2018, it is expected that the line will be extended into Ashburn and serve Washington Dulles International Airport. The Silver Line will provide an alternative access to Washington, D.C. from Dulles Airport to the Dulles Toll Road which is what the line parallels.
  Commuter rail service via the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) arrived in 1992. With two lines and eighteen stations, the VRE is the tenth-busiest commuter rail line in the United States. VRE's two commuter lines are known as the Manassas and Fredericksburg Line named after their respective terminuses. The VRE offers rail service to regions that do not have immediate Metro access or are far away from major highway corridors. The train service is divided into nine difference zones, used to gauge fares depending on the distance of the journey. Due to sharing of the rails with CSX Transportation, construction on a third rail to bypass freight trains has begun on the Fredericksburg.
  Although the area does not presently have any light rail service, there are plans to bring light rail into the inner and more densely populated regions of Northern Virginia. In Arlington, engineering is currently being done to create the Columbia Pike Streetcar. The streetcar would be built via a road diet by reducing the travel lines on Virginia State Route 244 in the city. The project has been met with mixed to positive reaction, with some concern coming over the financing for the project. In Alexandria, a bus rapid transit line known as Crystal City – Potomac Yard Transitway has opened the first phase in mid-2014, with eventual goals of converting the bus rapid transit line into a light rail.
caption: The Metro station at Washington National Airport.
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