BEDFORD, Va. – Amtrak could be coming to Bedford, but town leaders said they need just a little more funding to build a stop.
Retiree Monty Hogan and his Pomeranian, Angel, watch the trains come through Bedford every day.
“I hear when they blow through the crossings down there or up here about a mile each way I can hear,” Hogan said. “Angel can hear the vibrations.”
When Hogan heard that a stop could be coming to Bedford, he was excited.
“There are a lot of places me and Angel want to go on the Amtrak, like the new Smithsonian Air and Space Museum,” Hogan said.
The railroad tracks behind the Westgate Shopping Center are where town leaders want to place the 23.2 million dollar stop.
“The 20% match of just over $4 million is in discussion among the Town, County, and Franklin County as the regional beneficiaries of the stop,” Economic Development Coordinator for the Town of Bedford, Mary Zirkle, said in an e-mail.
Currently, Amtrak runs from Charlottesville to Roanoke, there’s a Christiansburg stop in the works, planned to be running by 2025.
A Town of Christiansburg spokesperson said they don’t have an update on its progress, but the Virginia Passenger Rail Authorities Board meets on Wednesday.
Bedford County Director of Economic Development Pam Bailey hopes Bedford could soon be a topic of discussion at one of those meetings as well.
Bailey said with people visiting the D-Day Memorial, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and more she said there’s enough ridership in Bedford.
“We’ve got all the tourist attractions here,” Bailey said. “A lot of visitors come and go throughout the week, throughout the year.”
Zirkle said the Town of Bedford is watching for federal grants to apply to.
Hogan hopes it won’t take long to come up with the money.
“I think it’d be good for the town, good for the system,” Hogan said. “I know a lot of people my age and younger would love to travel.”