Rail passengers traveling through Virginia’s Northeast Corridor should expect cancellations, route changes and may need to rely on bus connections beginning Oct. 16, due to major track upgrades.

This is part of Amtrak’s “Pause for Progress,” a critical infrastructure upgrade to replace aging track components at the A-interlocking control point in Washington D.C., temporarily suspending service from Oct. 16 to Oct. 26.

Amtrak said the A-Interlocking in the First Street Tunnel is responsible for routing Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express services between Virginia stations and Washington D.C.

Amtrak said the existing switches and crossovers are “beyond their service life,” which requires a 10 mph speed restriction that affects operations. 

“Customers traveling to or from Washington, D.C. from the south should expect significant service reductions and train cancellations,” Amtrak said in a statement.

Due to the suspension, trains traveling through Virginia will effectively end at Alexandria, with only a limited number continuing north. Most trips to Richmond, Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Hampton Roads will be served by express buses.

Once travelers are north of Washington, the Northeast Corridor trains continue normally on the Washington–New York–Boston segment. 

Amtrak said the work will improve safety and reliability, reduce delays and meet future demand by replacing outdated switches, installing modern electric switch systems and repairing and strengthening the tunnel’s foundation.

Representatives from Virginia Railway Express and Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, in statements to the Mercury, acknowledged the disruption while underscoring the project’s importance to Virginia’s passenger rail network.

“VRE supports Amtrak’s work to upgrade A-Interlocking in the First Street Tunnel, and we applaud investments that keep our rail corridor in a state of good repair,” said Katie Choe, VRE CEO. “While some VRE passengers will need to adjust their travel plans during the week of October 19-23, these upgrades will ultimately allow us to run more reliable service and improve the passenger experience at Union Station.”

Mike McLaughlin, chief operating officer for the Virginia Passenger Railway Authority, said the agency has worked with Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern, VRE and the North Carolina DOT to minimize the impact of the “Pause for Progress” construction on passengers.

“We understand that these infrastructure projects are a disruption to our passengers,” McLaughlin said. 

Amtrak Virginia will offer some service to Alexandria, VRE will operate service to L’Enfant in Washington during the construction period, and the agency is coordinating additional connections with Amtrak, VRE and WMATA to help passengers affected by the disruption.

McLaughlin said replacing A-Interlocking is critical to Virginia’s passenger rail service because just over 40% of Amtrak Virginia passengers connect to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor via the route.

Service resumes the morning of October 26. Click here for a list of the operational changes.