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2000 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 171
Expressing the sense of the General Assembly regarding rail transportation.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 12, 2000
Agreed to by the Senate, February 23, 2000

WHEREAS, a well-balanced and efficient statewide transportation system requires a careful consideration of the needs and potential of all transportation modes; not only highways, but also air, water, and rail; and

WHEREAS, as more of Virginia's highways become strangled by congestion and the cost of new highway construction continues to rise faster than inflation, the need for greater attention to alternative transportation modes and the benefits of genuine intermodalism become ever more obvious; and

WHEREAS, deregulation of the airline industry has made travel by air either unavailable or unrealistically expensive for many Virginians; and

WHEREAS, while Virginia's port of Hampton Roads is indisputably an invaluable asset both to the Commonwealth's transportation system and to its overall economy, our river ports and seaports do not have any significant role to play in the day-to-day transportation needs of most of Virginia's citizens and businesses; and

WHEREAS, Virginia is served by several major railroads capable of transporting large quantities of freight and providing passenger service to many densely settled centers of business and population; and

WHEREAS, a careful shift in transportation policy emphasis and resources away from highways and toward railroads has the potential of yielding considerable benefits in reduced traffic congestion, decreased air pollution, and expanded travel opportunities throughout the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That greater attention and resources be devoted to railroads as a part of Virginia's overall statewide transportation program, particularly the inauguration of regularly scheduled rail passenger service from Bristol via Roanoke and Lynchburg to Richmond and Washington, D. C., and high-speed rail passenger service from Richmond to Hampton Roads and Washington, D. C.; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Governor and the Secretary of Transportation in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly in this matter.