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VRE Operations Board discusses Spotsylvania County membership in closed session Date published: 6/20/2009
By KELLY HANNON WOODBRIDGE --The Virginia Railway Express Operations Board met in closed session yesterday for nearly an hour to discuss Spotsylvania County's possible membership in the commuter railway.The board took no action after returning to public session. Negotiations are continuing, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber. The board discussed several of Spotsylvania's requests, including an opt out clause that would let the county dissolve membership ties, Roeber said. So far, no locality that has ever joined VRE has tried to leave. The negotiations follow a June 11 summit on VRE membership at Spotsylvania's Riverbend High School. Four members of the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors have said they support holding a public hearing on possible VRE membership. Though Spotsylvania Earlier at the meeting, the board approved an order for three new locomotives. This brings VRE's total order of new locomotives to 12. The locomotives will be built by Motive Power Inc. in Boise, Idaho. The contract for all 12 locomotives will not exceed $48 million. The locomotives are being funded with a combination of stimulus funds, other federal funds, a federal earmark and grant funding. Some of VRE's 20 locomotives are decades old, and the older models are often responsible for mechanical-related train delays. "This is a big step for us," Zehner said. VRE also got the board's permission to issue requests for proposals to begin environmental and engineering work on a possible extension of the Manassas Line to Gainesville-Haymarket. Extending train service further west could increase ridership by 1,000 to 5,000 passengers a day, Zehner told board members. The new service is not inexpensive.
As it is, Spotsy does not have to contribute any money to VRE, and Spotsy riders prefer to catch VRE at the nice, cozy stations
North of the County.
Now VRE wants to be flexible and negotiate with Spotsy BOS? Wow, do they ever want Spoty's money or what? It's a shame this one will probably get passed on some backroom sweetheart deal that will cost the peopl of Spotsy so the "fail rail" can keep on chuggin'. Stafford and Fred are probably already licking their chops that VRE has another sucker sniffing the bait. God, I hope Spotsy BOS can develop some sort of spine and do the right thing.
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