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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The Virginia Railway Express has acquired Seminary Yard, a rail yard situated along the Manassas Line near Duke Street and the Capital Beltway, purchasing the property from the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority for $35.8 million as part of a broader five-year, $155 million agreement between the two agencies.
The purchase, announced Monday, covers four separate property interests and gives VRE sole ownership of infrastructure it will use to expand and modernize its commuter rail operations. Seminary Yard, formerly a freight facility, will be converted to support passenger rail service — providing midday train storage, expanding fleet capacity, improving operational flexibility and supporting future evening and weekend service.
VRE CEO Katie Choe said the acquisition addresses an immediate operational need. The agency has historically relied on Amtrak's Ivy City Coach Yard in Washington, D.C., for midday train storage, an arrangement that requires complex scheduling coordination. With Amtrak moving forward on its Ivy City Rail Yard Revitalization project, VRE is preparing to vacate that facility.
"Midday storage is critical for VRE operations," Choe said. "Seminary Yard fills an immediate need for us, while also ensuring adequate storage space for service expansion as we look to 2030 and beyond."
Beyond Seminary Yard, the $155 million agreement with VPRA includes a new lead track from VRE's Broad Run Maintenance and Storage Facility to the Manassas main line, permanent easements at five VRE stations along the Manassas Line — Backlick Road, Rolling Road, Burke Centre, Manassas Park and Manassas — and a permanent commuter rail operating easement along the VPRA-owned Manassas Line. VPRA had previously acquired those properties from Norfolk Southern.
VRE is the nation's 13th-largest commuter rail service, connecting Central and Northern Virginia with the District of Columbia across two lines — Manassas and Fredericksburg — serving 19 stations, including L'Enfant and Union Station in D.C.
Alexandria Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley serves as the immediate past chair of the VRE Operations Board, and Councilman Canek Aguirre serves as an alternate board member.
