Starting in December 2012, the Southside of Hampton Roads will welcome Intercity Passenger Rail Service. This conventional speed passenger rail service, with a maximum authorized speed of 79 mph, will provide one daily roundtrip seat service from Norfolk to the Northeast Corridor, terminating in Boston.

To accommodate the new passenger rail service, the City of Norfolk is engaged in the design, planning, and construction of a new multimodal passenger rail station in Harbor Park. Concurrently, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has been coordinating with Norfolk Southern on platform construction, track work, and the development of a passenger rail maintenance facility at St. Julian Avenue.
In support of the Harbor Park Multimodal Passenger Rail Station that is slated to open in Summer 2013, the City of Norfolk has been coordinating multimodal transportation planning at the site, to include the integration of:

•    Light Rail service
•    Intercity Passenger Rail service
•    Regional bus and ferry services
•    Commuter parking
•    Taxi services
•    Road access
•    Pedestrian access
•    Bicycle access

The new Harbor Park Multimodal Passenger Rail Station is anticipated to facilitate an initial annual ridership of 67,100, or 184 riders a day out of Norfolk. With such ridership, the station is being designed as a Class III (medium sized caretaker) Amtrak facility (see Table 1), with options for future expansion of the station.

In designing the station, the City of Norfolk has considered the anticipated pedestrian traffic, vehicular drop offs, station safety, amenities, conveniences, and multimodal connections.

Table 1: Amtrak Classification Standards
Source: Amtrak

For more information on the Norfolk Harbor Park Multimodal Passenger Rail Station Development Project, please contact Mr. Paul Filion of the Norfolk Public Works Department at pworks@norfolk.gov.