Since its inception in 1994, Virginia Railway Express (VRE) trains have shared midday storage space in Amtrak’s Ivy City Maintenance Complex with both Amtrak and Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) trains. As the three services have grown, this shared space has become more congested. To accommodate the growing fleets and the need for more train storage space at the Ivy City complex, VRE opted to develop a separate facility and enlisted VHB to help make this vision a reality. We are providing preliminary engineering and environmental analysis and coordinating the public outreach, agency coordination, and design efforts for the proposed VRE midday storage facility.
The selected site, located across the Northeast Corridor from the Amtrak Ivy City complex along New York Avenue NE, is a long and narrow parcel of land, creating a challenge to situate the proposed facility. Using our knowledge of VRE’s operational needs, along with Amtrak and VRE design standards, a conceptual layout and preliminary design were developed that will successfully accommodate the anticipated fleet. VHB is working together with regulatory agencies, stakeholders, members of the community, and property owners to assess potential impacts and deliver this project successfully for VRE, while helping VRE identify opportunities to be a good neighbor to the surrounding community.
