Read the whole thing at the HooK.

This new deal boosts the number of passenger train stops in Charlottesville by about 70 percent, and that’s just one reason why Richards, who got the news a few days ago at a Richmond rail conference, is so pleasantly stunned.

“It’s unprecedented,” says Richards. “This will be the first time Virginia has ever funded inter-city rail transporation.”

Baby steps. (although this is a mighty big baby step!)

Voice your opinion at Cville Rail. And read Daniel Nairn’s thoughts about rail in Charlottesville at Discovering Urbanism.

I started thinking of what would happen if crowds of rail passengers unloaded everyday? Even multiple times a day? Charlottesville resides a mere 100 miles away from one of the most sophisticated and heavily-used transit systems in the country, the Washington D.C. metro. If we could somehow plug ourselves into this system, Charlottesville could reap the benefits of economic growth without the downsides of sprawl and congestion.