I mentioned this to a couple of folks, and I think I posted on it elsewhere as well...I'd like to contact either the DRPT or Amtrak Virginia to ask about connecting bus services between the Norfolk station and the Newport News station. Long story short, the Norfolk times are awkward enough that you'll get a decent number of folks down there who don't want to leave at 5:00 AM (or who want to get back before whenever the planned return trip is scheduled for) that just access to the Norfolk station times is likely to make for a real mess. As much as I like taking the train, there are very few trips that I'll seriously look at getting up at 4 AM for, and that's what the current schedule is effectively asking of Virginia Beach residents. Honestly, I'd prefer that they consider a slightly later schedule (using the 8 AM 84/88 in lieu of 174, which at least pushes the Norfolk time to about 6 AM), but such is life. So...how should I go about this?
Edit: The other thing I want to hear is where somebody came up with a $30 million state operating subsidy demand for Virginia. Not that I don't want state support for the trains, but IIRC the posted operating deficit for Amtrak Virginia was far, far lower. The fact that there was talk of cutting the Lynchburg route (you know, the one that covers all of its operating costs and then some?) in the face of budget cuts also seems stupid beyond belief.
Edit: The other thing I want to hear is where somebody came up with a $30 million state operating subsidy demand for Virginia. Not that I don't want state support for the trains, but IIRC the posted operating deficit for Amtrak Virginia was far, far lower. The fact that there was talk of cutting the Lynchburg route (you know, the one that covers all of its operating costs and then some?) in the face of budget cuts also seems stupid beyond belief.
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