Virginia Railway Express

My most-​recent experience with the VRE has left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. I don’t take the VRE much … only when I have a meeting or conference in DC or one of the congested areas inside the beltway. I had a conference in DC earlier this week, and decided to take the VRE to Crystal City, and then hop the Blue Line to Foggy Bottom.
My first issue was that the morning train that I was on was an older, pretty ghetto train. The seats sucked. And there was no PA system. How the hell am I supposed to know where to get off? Luckily, I had some rough idea of the train route and was able to make the right guess and got off at Crystal City.
On the way back that night, I’m aiming to catch the last train back to Manassas. I get a little confused by the mall maze at the Crystal City stop (see my review for them) and get to the stop just a minute before the train arrives. I try to print a ticket and the machine malfunctions and says it can’t print the ticket. Great. I don’t see a conductor, so I board and wait until one comes around. When I spot her, I tell her the issue and get the dreaded summons for «fare evasion».
The fine, I discovered, is a whopping $ 100 PLUS court fees. REALLY? That’s insane. As other reviewers have noted, the two-​step validation is a bit confusing, and there are a lot of upset riders who get a ticket because they either don’t understand the 2-​step process, or have a malfunctioning machine to contend with.
It’s a nice service, but why would/​should I risk using the VRE and face a potential draconian fine because of their malfunctioning equipment? Sure, grabbing the PRTC commuter bus to West Falls Church and grabbing the Metro from there will add some time, but at least they have a reliable and streamlined fare service. The VRE needs to evaluate this process and provide a way for people to pay the fare on-​board or within a certain time without facing the ridiculous fine, or work with WMATA to enable Smartrip. Otherwise, they’re going to keep pissing people off and lose customers.

When I was visiting relatives in Virginia, I utilized this service from Rippon to Union Station, and vice-​versa. The trains were clean, and the ride was smooth and comfortable. Make sure you get your ticket validated prior to boarding.
As what another reviewer mentioned, there is no weekend service at all with the VRE, thus why I’m taking away one star. Should you wish to go to Union Station from Virginia by rail, Amtrak and MetroRail would be the best options for the weekends, unfortunately.
But hey, if you don’t want to fight the traffic coming into DC and vice-​versa on the weekdays, then this is the way to go!

Took the Train from Manassas to Union Station for the 1^st time.
Like most things you do for the 1^st time, it was a bit tricky.
You purchase your ticket from a machine but you MUST also validate the ticket if you plan to use it that day.
An easy smooth one hour trip to Union Station. Exactly on time going and coming.
Very clean, great staff and an excellent value.
An easy way to get in to DC without dealing with the traffiic or worrying about parking!

VRE trains are a fast way to get in and out of the district if you live in Northern Virginia. They are easy to ride and sure beats dealing with the traffic on on the area hell-​roads.
Personally, I think their prices are a little bit higher than MARC trains service Maryland, but VRE is still cheaper than riding Amtrak for the short-​haul.
My only beef is that the explanation on how to buy, then subsequently validate tickets is pretty confusing to first time riders.
One thing is certain, the train is a hell of a lot better option to get to DC from Manasas or Fredericksburg than trying to drive that mess every morning.