Information on Keolis and VRE's Operating and Maintenance Services

A Message from Our CEO on Keolis

I believe that it is important to keep you updated as we continue moving closer to the point when VRE transitions from Amtrak to Keolis.

With each passing day, we get a better picture of Keolis' progress in preparing its employees for VRE operations. All of the Keolis employees are seasoned, experienced railroaders. However, they must become "qualified" on the VRE territory. This is a rigorous process that includes several roundtrips on the railroad to become intimately familiar with speed limits, station and signal locations, and all other physical characteristics. In addition to this extensive training, Keolis employees are also being trained in other areas of their jobs, such as CPR/First Aid/AED, VRE equipment, customer service, ticket inspection, and VRE programs and policies.

Over the last several months, VRE has been meeting monthly with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Keolis, Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern. As part of this process, we have developed several contingency plans in the event that Keolis is not ready to assume full service on June 28. Recently, we elected to implement one of those plans and are now finalizing arrangements. Under that plan, Amtrak will remain VRE's operator for an additional two weeks. I would have preferred to delay making this decision so I could better assess Keolis' readiness, but Amtrak imposed a deadlineof June 9 for any contingency plan that involved Amtrak. In the interest of our riders, I opted to exercise the contingency plan by Amtrak's deadline so that there would be no question that VRE trains will operate full service on June 28.

You should know that this is not my preferred option.  Keolis is expected to be ready to operate much of, if not all of, the VRE service by June 28, and VRE prefers what is known as a "soft start" or "staggered start" of service on June 28, with the Fredericksburg Line operated by Keolis and the Manassas Line operated by Amtrak. The Fredericksburg line was considered the best line for Keolis to begin operations because Keolis has employed several engineers and conductors who have successfully and safely operated trains over the Fredericksburg Line during their careers, both with Amtrak and CSX. These crew members can use their experience in the Fredericksburg territory to coach their peers who are new to the Fredericksburg Line.  This makes the Fredericksburg Line the obvious choice when looking at a staggered start.

From an operational standpoint, a staggered start is a often a preferred start up method and one VRE first used 18 years ago when VRE began, with the Manassas Line starting in June and the Fredericksburg Line starting in July. This approach allows all parties, the FRA, CSX, Amtrak, and VRE riders, the opportunity to see Keolis' employees in action and ease Keolis into full operation. I am still working towards the possibility of a staggered start.

As it stands now, Amtrak will continue to operate trains through Friday, July 9, and Keolis will assume the VRE operation on July 12. In the end, VRE remains committed to ensuring that your ride on our trains is the best and safest it can be because that’s a promise we keep to you every day.