Virginia Railway Express

VRE has had it share of problems but I recently had a very positive experience. I downloaded their new mobile app to my IPhone 6. I received some alerts that as Apple updates their OS it may affect the functionality of the VRE app. Sure enough after the last update my VRE app was gone. Needless to say I was concerned as I had tickets on my account. I contacted the VRE tech support and within a day I had the app reinstalled and my tickets back. Thank you VRE. I appreciate the support from your mobile app team.

For two years, I have been riding the VRE Fredericksburg Line from Rippon to L’Enfant and back. The scheduled ride there is 51 minutes and back it is 47 minutes and that is accurate, in my experience. On-​time rates are great. They do runs different schedule on snow days, so check their website when weather is bad.
Before living in Woodbridge I was closer to DC and for two-​and-​a-​half years had a metro ride of about 20 – 22 minutes on the orange line to L’Enfant. I prefer 47 – 51 minutes on the VRE to 20 minutes on the metro. The VRE is smoother, cleaner, more comfortable, less crowded, and there are no unexplained stops or incomprehensible announcements.

The VRE service is only good if you live within a 15minute radius to the train station. If you’re outside this radius, this service does you no good. However, it’s a great alternative other than Metro & Buses. Also, they need more trains running throughout the day and weekend service offered. It needs to be more like Maryland’s MARC train in summary. It’s not so bad, but «could» be better though.

The VRE does the job well. Yes, it only runs Mo-​Fri, and there’s only two lines, and yes, there’s only a select amount of trains, but it is not all the bad that people make it out to be. The trains are clean and they are often on time (but I think that’s largely because the CSX and NS dispatchers give priority to them during the peak times). Overall though, I’ve had good experiences with them. You can buy your tickets either online or at the station, make sure you validate though each time before you board! And then you’re good to go. I prefer to sit on the top of the multilevel cars because you get a good view during the ride, which is pretty scenic and a good mix of urban sprawl and rural forests and countryside, which make the ride pretty and well, faster.
If you do sit in the quiet car, please follow the rules. And always have your ticket out so the conductors can do their jobs quicker. It only makes your trip seamless. Otherwise, get on board and enjoy your ride.

The Dc Metro is the cleanest in America.

I use this train for convenience. When you live further away from DC, this is the only option besides taking a 2 hr bus ride or driving (basically being on 66 or 95). The schedules could be improved. The latest ride out is around 645PM. That’s tough when you want to do things after work in DC or even work late (which helps my workaholic mentality). The train is always on time, conductors are pleasant, you can eat and drink, use the rest room, and sleep. There’s also a quiet car for serious,” I want to be left alone” people. The perks of Friday night rides is having a chance at seeing a rider drink «apple juice,» and literally rolling down the aisle while getting off until the train slows to a stop and they meet the door.
Problems come with nasty coughers that hack openly and purposefully, riders that bring stinky yogurts or exotic homeland delicacies, sitting beside a person with chronic halitosis or BO (and are totally kool with that since it takes years of neglect to get caked with bacteria), rude skinny byches that take everyone’s time while they climb or descend the stairs in heels (when it’s suggested to wear low platformed shoes), having the bathroom door slide open after a camper or even during a time one occupies it, goofy or plain rude people getting in the way for no reason, and limited parking. What tops this is customer service never responding to emails and calls. The managers are in «meetings.»

This station, despite its relatively non-​central location in the near-​sterile Crystal City, a sprawling Arlington community of glass and steel skyscrapers a stone’s throw from National Airport, is busier than you can shake a stick… It serves almost exclusively a commuting community on both the Manassas and the Fredericksburg VRE lines, and during the rush hour times there are thousands of people who use the station.
The ADA accessible Crystal City Station is located behind the Waterpark Apartments on Crystal Drive. Even though the information states that there is no parking, that means no FREE parking. There is ample parking for substantial sums of money within a block or so. A wonderful point of this station’s location is that it is located within feet of the Mt Vernon Trail extension to Crystal City, allowing for either on boarding or off boarding of folks who wish to have at least some exercise before or after work. It is also a block across Crystal Drive from the Yellow and Blue Metro entrance. From or to the station, one can take the Arlington ART buses that go everywhere in this wonderful county, as well as Metrobus into the District.
The station features vending machines that can validate or sell tickets provided the user has credit or debit cards.

About 3 years ago, I used to ride the VRE religiously in to Crystal City every day. I used to love the service and the most of the conductors on the train were very courteous and polite, except for one.
Just recently, I got a new job in Alexandria, so I had to choose how to get to work. The option was to drive, pay the parking fee at work, or choose VRE. After looking at the costs, and comparing what I would spend on gas, and then checking against what it would cost to ride VRE, I chose to drive.
Don’t get me wrong. For most the VRE option is great, but I have a hybrid Toyota Prius and I am very independent person, anyway. Plus, I remember several things like if you get on the train at Alexandria, good luck getting a seat when heading home. I also remember the mad rush at Broad Run station because everyone would literally run to get to their cars so they could get out first. I hate being treated like a cow. The advantages are at least when you are on the train, you can do work or just nap.
My biggest complaint is that the costs of the fares has gotten so abusive, it just does not make sense to take the VRE anymore for now. Maybe they can lower the costs, but they have to pay for the cars somehow, and the state budget shortfalls have not helped.

Awesome, simply awesome. No better way to get into Washington, DC. 1000% better than driving and 800% than metro. Some of the best features: you actually arrive at your destination in a reasonable amount of time, relevantly no hassle and the lack of the requisite crazies on the metro — or 66 for that matter.
The ticket cost from my usual Manassas stop to Union Station is around $ 8.00 per trip or near $ 234 a month, which is well worth the cost.
The stations are kind of convenient if you live within a 15 mile radius or so of interstate 66, although the threat of the Manassas «i’m-going-to-drive-20-in-a-35» crowd is a hindrance when you have 7 mins before the train arrives.

I sent an email to the main VRE email address last week about a problem with one of their cars, a «quiet» car with a squealing problem which made every start and stop of the train pretty unbearable. Today I received a reply:
«Dear Iain,
Thank you for writing.
Our Director of Equipment and Services had a mechanic ride the train to listen for the noise. They determined it to be an issue with a brake shoe.
The noise should now be resolved.
If you have any further questions or notice any other issues, please let us know.
Thank you for riding VRE.»
Now that is service!