CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Town officials are eyeing the possibility of bringing passenger train service back to Orange for the first time since the 1970s, though it’s a lengthy process that could take over a decade.

Still, town officials believe a stop in Orange would benefit both residents commuting out of the town for work and give a boost to the area’s tourism industry, making visiting Orange more accessible.

“We have Amtrak trains come through here all day long,” Mayor Harrison Cluff told Cville Right Now. “And we are very much seeking that passenger rail service return to our town. It would certainly be a shot in the arm to downtown merchants. It would open up more tourist day-trip type of possibilities or weekends for people that would like to come in and visit a historical area in an old downtown. But it would also be convenient for some of our local citizens, with visitors, families coming in, certainly for the holidays. So it kind of goes in both directions. But I think it would just be beneficial for those wanting to come into town as well as well as the residents of the town and travel purposes.”

Orange Economic Development Director Patrick McAloon told Cville Right Now what the town is targeting is a stop for state-funded Northeast Regional trains that run from Roanoke to Washington D.C. Two trains in each direction pass through Orange every day, he said.

“In the Town of Orange, we have the trains,” he said. “They just don’t stop here.”

Virginia applied for and is receiving federal funds to expand passenger rail service around the Commonwealth, and that opened the door for the possibility. In August, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that Virginia would be receiving part of over $2 billion in national funding through the Department of Transportation’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program.

Wednesday, they announced $3.6 million in funding for improvements to the Shenandoah Valley railroad system, specifically to fix 20 miles of tracks in Augusta and Rockingham County.

McAloon said Orange already has a train station, or depot, that could be used for the stop, if analysis shows that its in the best location. McAloon noted that the state funded tracks aren’t actually the ones that connect with the existing depot. The existing depot would also need some upgrades, including being made ADA compliant. He said an alternative plan would involve building a concrete platform for a train stop. But the current depot has the advantage of existing parking.

Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation conducted a survey in the spring and is doing another one this fall to determine what locations residents want to see served by passenger trains.

“I would be happy if we had a train stop here in 10 years,” said McAloon, who moved to Orange in 2021 with his wife. The two own an inn in town, he said.

“It’s a momentum thing and a patience thing,” he said. “We keep bringing it up, and because we have to keep bringing it up, in order for this, hopefully to come out with a positive ending for us. We have to keep pushing the whole time.”

Orange Town Manager Chris Snider oversaw the return of passenger train service to Culpeper in his previous post there.

“This was one of the things that was on my short list when I came to town last August,” Snider told Cville Right Now.

Snider said the move paid immediate dividends for Culpeper.

“I lived two blocks from the train station, just like I do here in Orange now,” Snider said. “Immediately, we started seeing people coming on Friday afternoon, getting off the train with a bag and spending the weekend in town. The impact it had on the downtown, on our shops, on our restaurants, on our B&Bs and inns that were downtown was remarkable.

“Ours is a smaller community, but I think we’d see a similar impact as far as visitors with the opportunities for regional tourism, people hopping on the train and coming here for a weekend or a week or whatever.”

Town councilor Jason Cashell and his wife own a bed and breakfast establishment in Orange. 

“There used to be a very active train system that would stop in Orange,” Cashell told Cville Right Now. “It’s a great way to bring people downtown. Our train station is right in the heart of downtown. It’s a beautiful train station. So, I think it’d be a great thing.”

 Snider agreed.

“The biggest deal for us is getting people here,” he said. “We have a lot to offer. And we welcome people coming here to see what we have to offer and enjoying our beautiful small town. A lot of rich history to share, some great restaurants and shops and just a kind of a different way of life. Here, people can escape, for a little while anyway, from that big city life.”