Prince George
County, VA

Petersburg expands bus service to train station


New route seen as bolstering futures of Ettrick terminal, planned park-and-ride in Petersburg

PETERSBURG — Petersburg Area Transit announced Wednesday that it has expanded its Ettrick bus service now to include a stop at the Amtrak station, a move not only complementing the planned park-and-ride facility that will go up beside the bus station but also cementing the future viability of a train terminal once targeted earlier this year for total replacement.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, PAT general manager Charles L. Koonce Jr. said the new route makes the Petersburg Multi-Modal Station on West Washington Street more of a “true” location “where residents can access any place in the country from right here in Petersburg.” The PAT bus will leave downtown at 15 minutes after the top of the hour for the 17-minute ride to the Amtrak station.

The Ettrick/Virginia State University/Amtrak route will run daily between 6:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. The final bus of each day will arrive at the Amtrak station at 6:32 p.m.

The route is part of Petersburg’s Smart Scale Park and Ride Project, a state grant-funded $8 million initiative that will pay for construction of the park-and-ride facility adjacent to the Multi-Modal Station. The park-and-ride is scheduled to be completed by 2021

“Soon, Amtrak customers will be able to park at Transit’s Park and Ride Facility, and take the bus to Amtrak,” Koonce said in the statement.

City Manager Aretha R. Ferrell-Benavides called the new route and the park-and-ride a “progressive” way for Petersburg to expand its services.

“I think the connection to Amtrak is an excellent way to plan for the future of transportation in Petersburg,” Ferrell-Benavides said.

In addition to PAT lines, the Multi-Modal Station also handles passengers for daily Greater Richmond Transit Co. commutes between Petersburg and Richmond, and Greyhound Bus Lines.

To access the full PAT schedule, go to www.petersburgva.gov and find it under “Petersburg Area Transit Routes.

The addition of the route is also seen as bolstering the future of the Ettrick station, whose fate was uncertain while federal officials mulled the possibility of building a replacement station in Colonial Heights. Opposition to that plan, led by local, state and elected officials as well as the Virginia State University administration, was very strong, prompting the Federal Railroad Administration to eventually suspend plans for the new station. Additionally, special state-grant money was awarded to help pay for much-needed renovations at the six-decade-old station.

By Bill Atkinson
Progress-Index Staff
Bill Atkinson can be reached at 804-722-5167 or batkinson@progress-index.com. On Twitter: @BAtkinsonpi.