Table of Contents
The Alexandria-based Virginia Railway Express announced Friday the appointment of Chris Henry as its chief operations officer, a role that has been vacant since 2019.
Henry, who has served as VRE's director of rail operations for 16 years, will officially assume the position Saturday.
He becomes the commuter rail service's first COO since Rich Dalton vacated the role upon his own appointment as chief executive officer. Dalton held the CEO post until October 2025, when Katie Choe took over as chief executive.
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the agency. In October, VRE surpassed 100 million total riders since launching service in 1992, with ridership climbing sharply — more than 100,000 additional passengers rode the system in July 2025 compared to the same month the year prior.
Henry steps into the role as VRE manages one of its most operationally complex stretches in recent memory. Since January, the agency has adjusted schedules to accommodate the Long Bridge Project, a Potomac River rail expansion expected to continue through 2030. The project connects to a broader suite of Alexandria rail improvements — including a fourth track project between Arlington and Alexandria — that together form part of a nearly $6 billion investment to increase regional rail throughput by 33%.
In his new role, Henry will oversee day-to-day rail and mechanical operations and report directly to Choe, as VRE works through the construction period and prepares for longer-term expansion under Virginia's multibillion-dollar "Transforming Rail in Virginia" initiative and the agency's recently adopted System Plan 2050.
Alexandria Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, who serves on the VRE Operations Board and previously served as its chair, has been a consistent voice for the agency's growth. "Our region is changing, and so are the ways people travel," Bagley said in October.
Henry first joined VRE in 2010. He brings more than 40 years of operations management experience and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida and a master's of business administration from Rollins College.
VRE is the nation's 13th largest commuter rail service, operating two lines — Manassas and Fredericksburg — across 19 stations connecting Central and Northern Virginia with Washington, D.C.
