Spotsylvania station

Spotsylvania is a commuter rail station on the Virginia Railway Express Fredericksburg Line, located off US Route 17 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, about south of downtown Fredericksburg. It opened on November 16, 2015 – the first extension of VRE service since its opening.The station consists of a 700ft-long low-level platform with a canopy and a small headhouse with restrooms. The station has 1500 parking spaces for commuters.HistoryInitial plansSince its opening in July 1992, the Fredericksburg Line had terminated at its namesake city. Spotsylvania was not included in the 1992 VRE network because the county was not part of the original funding district. However, the Fredericksburg lot served a substantial number of commuters from Spotsylvania County – between 900 and 1000 daily by 2012. This caused capacity problems at the lot and prevented local residents from parking there. In 2004, VRE's Strategic Plan indicated the possibility of a station in Spotsylvania at a Route 17 site, citing existing ridership from the county and the need for increased parking, as well as noting that the extension could be constructed relatively cheaply, allowing for near-term implementation.Joining VREOn August 18, 2009, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted to join VRE. In September 2009, they additionally voted to join its associated funding district, the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC). The North Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) approved the decision (which included provisions for a VRE station in Spotsylvania) in November 2009, and Spotsylvania joined VRE and the PRTC in February 2010. In August 2010, a Spotsylvania-funded study indicated that a site just south of Route 17 was the optimum location for the station. The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved the site in October 2010.