BLACKSBURG, Va. – People are getting excited about the proposed New River Valley passenger train station, only there’s one caveat ... the location hasn’t been determined.
The New River Valley expansion project was recently delayed to 2028 from the original goal of 2025.
Officials said they are presenting their plans for the area at the meeting on Monday, as well as asking for community input on what they want from the rail service.
“We’re actually going to be building infrastructure, we need a platform, we need tracks, to that platform,” said Karina Romero, communications manager for the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. “We want to hear from the community. What do they want? What kind of rail service do they want? Where do they want the station? That is what our open house is for.”
On Monday, the authority met with various members of the community about what they’d like to see.
Judy Ruggles believes the station should be elsewhere from the mall...the original plan for the station.
“I avoid the mall religiously. It’s just too much,” Ruggles said.
Wherever the location ends up being, the station will be able to connect people wanting to travel up to Washington D.C. or other parts of Virginia.
“I’m hopeful because of the amount of traffic on 81 which prevents me from traveling up to visit family and all kinds of things in the D.C. area,” Ruggles said.
With Virginia Tech and Radford University nearby, the train will also provide an alternative way to get to major airports.
“Where they put it is not going to affect me personally but this is something this area needs,” Waymon Pack said. “Think about the students at Virginia Tech and Radford and their parents that will be able to come by or pick up their kids from the school.”
Officials said they will focus on finding a location for the station because that will determine how big the price tag will be.
If you can’t make it to the meeting you can still fill out a survey to give your input here.