Virginia Railway Express (VRE) announced today that passengers will continue to ride free between the rail system’s six northern-most stations until service resumes on Metrorail’s Blue Line, scheduled for November 5, 2022. The VRE Operations Board voted Friday to extend fare-free travel for riders beginning and ending their trips within fare zones 1 (Union Station and L’Enfant), 2 (Crystal City and Alexandria) and 3 (Franconia-Springfield and Backlick Road).
The board also agreed to reduce fares for the duration of Metrorail’s Yellow Line tunnel work, currently expected to conclude by summer 2023. A single-ride ticket for travel within fare zones 1, 2 and 3 will cost $5 and a day pass will be $10. A 10-trip ticket will cost $46, an 8 percent discount from the day pass, while a seven-day pass will run $40, a 20 percent discount. At $138, the 31-day pass will provide the greatest discount at 34 percent. The reduced tickets and passes will be available through VRE Mobile.
Parking at VRE’s Backlick Road station is free. The non-rider fee for parking at Metrorail’s Franconia-Springfield station is suspended during the Yellow Line tunnel work, so the daily cost to park will be $4.95 for all.
VRE welcomes full-size bicycles on all trains and offers bicycle parking at all stations, eliminating the first-mile last-mile conundrum for many commuters.
