
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 1, 1991                   TAG: 9104010248
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANASSAS                                LENGTH: Medium

DIFFICULTIES DERAILING PLANNED FALL START-UP OF COMMUTER TRAINS

The long-awaited commuter trains running from Fredericksburg and Manassas to Washington face delays that threaten the anticipated fall startup.

Mitsui, the Japanese company making 28 cars for the Virginia system at its plant in Brazil, said it is behind schedule and wants more time, Virginia Railway Express officials said.

The company wants a two-month delay on the first shipment of four cars and 10 weeks with subsequent deliveries, rail manager Thomas R. Waldron said. "We don't see the justification behind it," he said.

The system was to have 20 new passenger cars by late October, but Mitsui's request would put the deliveries into 1992.

A plan to buy 25 used passenger cars from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority may be delayed by federal regulations.

Because the Boston-based system used a federal grant to buy the cars, the Virginia Railway Express must meet all federal standards to buy them from the Boston system. The standards require public hearings and completion of a detailed federal environmental assessment of the system.

The Virginia Railway Express had been approved for a $750,000 Urban Mass Transit Authority grant toward station construction, but that's in jeopardy now as well.

The Virginia Railway Express hasn't run into this problem before because there were no federal funds available for the system. Numerous local hearings have been held on commuter rail and environmental studies were done for the stations, according to Virginia Railway Express officials.

"And if we're required to do that, it puts us beyond October," Waldron said. "We are exploring various ways, not to circumvent this, but to comply with the regulations and get the cars."

Another problem is higher costs. Designing and building commuter rail stations has a higher price tag than expected.

The cost of building 12 commuter rail stations has climbed to $6.6 million, about $2 million more than anticipated.

The Virginia Railway Express will be able to cover its costs by tapping various funds and grants, Waldron said. But localities will be asked to use their revenues from their 2 percent gas tax to complete their stations.

by CNB