By KELLY HANNON
Caroline County has received nearly $100,000 in state grant money to study building a passenger rail station in the Carmel Church area.
The study, expected to finish around May, will look at three possible locations, said Kevin Page of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
"It's a passenger rail design concept," said Page, DRPT's chief of rail transportation. The station design would accommodate commuter rail, Amtrak or high-speed rail in the future, he said.
Caroline County residents and the county Board of Supervisors have expressed interest in bus service to the Virginia Railway Express station in Fredericksburg. The VRE runs weekday commuter service to Northern Virginia and Washington employment centers.
FREDericksburg Regional Transit just launched bus service to VRE from Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania to ease a tight parking situation near the downtown station.
Caroline economic development director Gary Wilson said the station concept is in the early stages.
"There are engineers and those kind of folks looking at dry numbers and patches of ground and trying to make some sense out of the ideas we have," Wilson said.
Close to 60 percent of Caroline's workers are employed outside the county.
The county was named the 10th fastest-growing in the nation by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2005. With a position close to Richmond and within reach of Washington, a number of new housing developments in the Ladysmith area have drawn families looking for three- and four-bedroom homes in the $200,000 range.
To join Virginia Railway Express, Caroline would have to become a member of a transportation commission and levy a 2 percent gas tax. The commission could be the Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commission, or, it could be a Fredericksburg area transportation commission, if one is created.
A 2 percent gas tax would pay for VRE member fees, and other revenue from the tax could be spent by Caroline on county transportation projects.
Caroline would not have to wait for Spotsylvania County to join VRE.
Since Caroline borders Stafford County, it is eligible for membership now.
"It is a doable option," said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber. But he pointed out VRE would need to work with CSX Corp. to see if additional stations would be allowed. CSX Corp. of Jacksonville owns the tracks used by Amtrak and VRE.
A new VRE station is planned for the Cherry Hill peninsula in Prince William County. The extra station will lengthen the commute to the Fredericksburg area by a few minutes.
Wilson said Caroline would be in touch with relevant rail agencies as the study progresses.
The grant was awarded by the Commonwealth Multimodal Planning Office at the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436