WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express have adjusted their schedules to make way for morning work blocks that will be in effect for the next four years between Washington and Alexandria, Va., to permit construction of a new four-track bridge across the Potomac River.
After months of negotiations, stakeholders have reached an agreement on schedule changes that will go into effect on Jan. 12, 2026, to accommodate the Long Bridge construction project.
Schedules of trains now crossing the bridge between 8:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday are being shortened, substituted, or slightly retimed, as Trains reported in its January News section and online [See “Virginia’s Long Bridge project …,” Oct. 13, 2025].
But those times now have been modified to reduce the work block’s impact to three southbound Amtrak trains: the Palmetto, Carolinian, and Cardinal.
Virginia Passenger Rail Authority Executive Director D.J. Stadtler tells Trains that one of the two tracks through the area will remain closed until 1 p.m., while the other track will open to allow the three Amtrak trains to roll across the bridge.
“We agreed to have construction crews open one of the two tracks starting at around noon. Our hope is that the single-tracking is only for a few months,” Stadtler says.
“Amtrak has some Northeast Corridor projects that prevented them from changing the long-distance schedules right now,” he adds.
As of Thursday, Dec. 4, neither Amtrak nor VRE had released complete adjusted schedules effective Jan. 12 on their websites or ticketing systems, although Amtrak did supply Washington arrival and departure times for some regional and long-distance trains:
- Palmetto (to Savannah, Ga.): Depart Washington, currently 9:59 a.m., will shift to 11:55 a.m. beginning Jan. 12.
- Carolinian (to Charlotte, N.C.): Depart Washington, currently 11:08 a.m., will shift to 12:10 p.m. beginning Jan. 12.
- Cardinal (to Chicago Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday): Depart Washington, currently 10:59 a.m., will shift to 11:40 a.m. beginning Jan. 12.
- Silver Meteor (from Miami): Arrive Washington, currently 7:25 a.m., will shift to 6:25 a.m. effective Jan. 12. (Effective Jan. 12 the Meteor will depart Miami one hour earlier, at 7:05 a.m.)
The revised Amtrak Northeast Regional changes include elimination of one round-trip between Washington and Richmond (Va.) Main Street Station and another to and from Norfolk, Va., leaving four daily round-trip trains between the Hampton Roads area and Washington.
Filling those gaps are two express buses with stops at Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Newport News, Va., to and from Washington Union Station. The options provide Newport News an additional connection to Washington compared to today. Thus, total Amtrak Virginia service in Hampton Roads will equal six combined rail and bus roundtrips, up from the current five all-rail roundtrips.
Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll tells Trains that the company’s ticketing platform is currently being updated to reflect schedule changes, and customer outreach to those passengers already booked is ongoing.
Times at all intermediate stops will be affected and other schedules adjusted, such as departure times of east and northbound counterparts of the affected trains and North Carolina’s Raleigh-Charlotte Piedmonts. Virginia Passenger Rail Authority’s Karina Romero says the new VRE schedules are still being tweaked.
A separate online VRPA “service guide” features buttons which will eventually post separate Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express adjustments as the project proceeds but currently contain no specifics.
In a press release on the Long Bridge project’s website, Stadtler explains, “We did not take these decisions lightly, and we evaluated every possible scenario to limit the disruptions while providing our construction teams with the work window they need to safely complete the project on time and on budget. Our goal is to offer as much service as possible while working to upgrade our infrastructure, with the final result being more rail service throughout the Commonwealth.”
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