Vice Mayor Bagley completes landmark year as VRE chair, transitions to immediate past chair role

Alexandria Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley has completed her term as chair of the Virginia Railway Express Operations Board after leading the organization through one of its most consequential years — one that included a historic ridership milestone, a major groundbreaking in Old Town, a new CEO hire and the advancement of a long-term plan to transform VRE from a peak-hour commuter service into a full regional rail network.

"I was honored to pass the gavel to Chair Bailey, who shares my understanding that a strong transit system, that includes regional rail service, is vital to the region economically and to meet its sustainability goals," Bagley told The Alexandria Brief. "My year as Chair in 2025 was consequential for VRE in our selection of a new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Legal Officer."

On Oct. 6, 2025, VRE recorded its 100 millionth rider since launching service in 1992, a milestone that arrived as the system was experiencing accelerating ridership growth — more than 100,000 additional passengers rode in July 2025 compared to the same month the prior year.

"We have reached the 100 million riders milestone at the start of a new chapter for VRE," Bagley said at the time. "Our region is changing, and so are the ways people travel. VRE has and will continue to grow with our communities while delivering the safe, sustainable, and high-quality service riders deserve."

The following month, Virginia officials and rail partners broke ground at Alexandria Union Station on a suite of infrastructure projects that represent part of a nearly $6 billion investment to transform passenger rail along the East Coast. The Alexandria Fourth Track Project, bridge replacements over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue, and station improvements are designed to eliminate a longstanding bottleneck where multiple rail lines converge south of Washington. Virginia Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller III said the improvements will increase rail throughput by 33 percent.

Bagley, speaking at the November groundbreaking, highlighted the community benefits of the bridge work. "The bridges are not only going to improve the experience for rail travel, but they're going to improve the experience for everybody underneath that bridge — to drive under it, to walk under it, to bike under it," she said. Station improvements include raising the western platform, rehabilitating the pedestrian tunnel, and extending the east platform to accommodate eight-car trains.

In December 2025, Bagley led the board in selecting Katie Choe as VRE's new chief executive officer — the first woman to lead the organization in its 31-year history — following a nationwide search. Choe, who took over Jan. 20, previously served as chief of staff at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and as chief engineer for the City of Boston Public Works. Bagley said Choe was selected through a process that reflected the moment VRE is in as it works to complete the capital projects needed to support service expansion under its 2030 and 2050 plans.

"Her record of delivering transformative results for organizations through innovative, safety-oriented, and people-first leadership reflects the core values held dear at VRE," Bagley said of the appointment.

Choe's first VRE board meeting coincided with January's major snowstorm. Reporting to the Alexandria City Council in February, Bagley praised maintenance and operations staff who slept in their trucks to keep trains running during the storm. She also noted that the Long Bridge construction schedule is now in place and that staff have refined what she called the "Alexandria shuffle" — transferring arriving passengers onto separate Manassas and Fredericksburg trains at Alexandria Station — to about six minutes.

At the March City Council meeting, Bagley reported that Choe told the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission that 2030 — VRE's target year to double service — is only 42 board meetings away. Bagley also announced that VRE has filled its long-vacant chief operating officer position, promoting Chris Henry, director of operations since 2011, from within the organization. Henry led VRE's response to the January snowstorm.

Bagley recently flagged one emerging concern during a City Council meeting: the First Street Tunnel in Washington, which all VRE trains must pass through to reach Union Station, has no infrastructure project currently on the docket. Even as the fourth track, Long Bridge and L'Enfant improvements take shape, the tunnel could remain a bottleneck. The board is expected to have a broader conversation about what that means for the 2030 service plan.

Reflecting on her tenure, Bagley told The Alexandria Brief that she aimed to honor the ambition of VRE's founders. "As Chair, I aimed to uplift the boldness and vision of our founding members who saw how transformative rail could be for Northern Virginia," she said. "We have a unique opportunity on the VRE Board to serve with regional counterparts who represent a broad array of stakeholders and communities. Yet together, we have built, and can expand upon, this valuable service to our region which transports our riders safely without adding emissions and additional delays to our congested highways."

Bagley now serves on the finance and CEO and Chief Legal Officer Evaluation committees, and this year chairs the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. Alexandria City Council member Canek Aguirre, a VRE board alternate since 2019, gives the city a second seat at the table.

Prince William County Supervisor Andrea Bailey was elected chair for 2026 by her peers in January. Her priorities center on advancing station improvement and facility expansion projects aligned with the Commonwealth's Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative, positioning VRE for a major service expansion around 2030 — including first-ever weekend and late-evening service and increased bi-directional trips. By 2050, VRE envisions a full regional rail system operating seven days a week.

"My strategic focus is to align board decisions for the growth of our rail system with the 2050 System Plan and Vision for future service expansions, infrastructure investments, and strengthening regional connectivity," Bailey said.

Fairfax County Supervisor Dan Storck serves as vice chair, Spotsylvania Supervisor Lori Hayes as secretary, and City of Fredericksburg Councilmember Jannan Holmes as treasurer. City of Manassas Councilmember Sonia Vasquez-Luna rounds out the executive team as an at-large member.

VRE, the nation's 13th largest commuter rail service, operates the Manassas and Fredericksburg lines, serving 19 stations, including two in Washington. More information is available at vre.org.

Bagley told The Alexandria Brief she intends to keep advocating for the system in her new roles. "VRE's track record is clear as a tool to take cars off the road, deliver people home safely, and allow for more housing choice throughout the region less reliant on car-based travel," she said. "But don't forget, at the end of the day, trains are cool."