Virginia Railway Express (VRE)

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission jointly own the Commonwealth’s only commuter rail service, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE). VRE began operations in 1992 and currently operates on weekdays along two routes between Manassas and Spotsylvania to Washington, D.C.

As established in section 33.2-1526.1, VRE receives up to 3.5 percent of the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) uses service delivery factors and performance metrics to determine the exact amount of funding allocated in each Six-Year Improvement Program:

Ridership

• Annual Change in Ridership: percentage change in Unlinked Passenger Trips year-to-year.
• Annual Change in Passengers Per Mile: percentage change in Unlinked Passenger Trips divided by Vehicle Revenue Miles year-to-year.

Cost Efficiency

• Cost Per Passenger: Audited Operating Expense (from previous fiscal year) divided by Ridership.

System Reliability and Safety

• On-time performance: annual percentage of trains arriving at their destination within five minutes of the schedule.
• Mean Distance between Major Mechanical Failures: annual vehicle revenue miles divided by number of major mechanical failures compared year-to-year.
• Fatalities and Injuries: annual number of preventable fatalities and injuries.

Additionally, the CTB has the authority to withhold 20 percent of these funds each year unless VRE submits a detailed annual operating budget and any proposed capital expenditures and projects for the following fiscal year by February 1 of each year.