Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Breaks Ground on New River Valley Project

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin today broke ground on the highly-anticipated New River Valley Rail Project in Christiansburg, Va. As part of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority’s (VPRA) Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) initiative, the New River Valley Project encompasses railroad infrastructure upgrades that will allow VPRA to extend its Amtrak Virginia service from Roanoke to Christiansburg and return passenger rail service to the New River Valley for the first time since 1979.

The New River Valley Project includes:

A new station platform with canopy
Parking lot and access roads
Track improvements and updated signaling system
An Amtrak layover facility in nearby Radford

The extension of service to Christiansburg will be via Norfolk Southern’s main line (N-Line), the result of an agreement between VPRA and Norfolk Southern completed last September through which VPRA purchased the Manassas Line and gained access to the N-Line. By expanding service from Roanoke to Christiansburg on the N-Line, VPRA will use existing infrastructure with a focus on developing a station stop at the Cambria site which previously served the community from 1904 to 1979. The project will also enhance Norfolk Southern’s freight service through the area.

The New River Valley Passenger Rail Station Authority—created by the Virginia General Assembly in 2021—has the lead in the renovation of the historic Christiansburg station building at Cambria. It will be called the New River Valley Station and renovations are expected to begin in 2027.

The estimated cost of VPRA’s New River Valley Project is $264.5 million. Preliminary construction began in late February 2025 with full construction commencing this spring.

Amtrak Virginia service is expected to begin in 2027 with two daily roundtrips between Christiansburg and Washington, D.C., with stops in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas, Burke Centre, and Alexandria. Trip times are estimated to be 50 minutes between Christiansburg and Roanoke and just under six hours between Christiansburg and Washington, D.C. From Washington, D.C., the service will continue onto Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor to Philadelphia, New York, Boston and points in-between.

-via Press Release