The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) has acquired Seminary Yard, a rail yard providing the agency infrastructure in Alexandria, Va. VRE notes the property was purchased from the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) for $35.8 million, as part of a five-year, $155 million agreement between the two parties for the transfer of four separate property interests.

VRE says it will transform what was previously a freight yard into a facility that supports expanded passenger rail service by:

• Providing midday train storage.
• Expanding storage capacity for a growing fleet.
• Improving operational flexibility and reliability.
• Increasing resiliency through self-owned infrastructure.
• Supporting future evening and weekend service.

Historically, VRE notes it has relied on Amtrak’s Ivy City Coach Yard in Washington, D.C., for midday train storage—an arrangement that the agency notes requires complex scheduling coordination. Seminary Yard brings this function closer to VRE’s core service area, reducing operational constraints and improving turnaround times.

“Midday storage is critical for VRE operations,” said VRE CEO Katie Choe. “With VRE preparing to vacate Ivy City as part of Amtrak’s Ivy City Rail Yard Revitalization project, Seminary Yard fills an immediate need for us while also ensuring adequate storage space for service expansion as we look to 2030 and beyond.”

The Seminary Yard purchase is one piece of a $155 million agreement between VRE and VPRA. In addition to Seminary Yard, the agreement conveys property in the Broad Run Corridor—providing a new lead track from VRE’s Broad Run Maintenance and Storage Facility to the Manassas main line—permanent easements at the five VRE stations in the VPRA-owned right of way on 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.

VRE says these acquisitions give it substantially more control over infrastructure it relies on daily. VPRA had previously acquired these properties from Norfolk Southern.