Posts

Showing posts from August, 2011

My Ride on the Tide - Light Rail comes to Norfolk, VA

Image
Monday afternoon, my wife and I took our first ride on Norfolk's new light rail system, The Tide . I won't go into all of the details of the massive cost overruns and the fact that the train's maiden voyage was close to two years behind schedule. That is past. The Tide actually began official passenger service at 6AM on Friday August 19, 2011. Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) had originally announced that they would allow passengers to ride for free that weekend, from Friday to Sunday. Wisely, they extended the free trips through next weekend. Before I describe my experience, let me first preface my comments by letting you know that I am a huge  rail fan. I have always enjoyed riding the rails. My father was an Norfolk and Western RR (now Norfolk Southern) employee and each summer as a child, I would get an employee's pass, board the Pocahontas or the Powhatan Arrow and ride it to Narrows, VA where my grandmother would meet me for a week at her home in West Virginia.