Nothing ventured, nothing trained
This state budget was months late thanks to the pandemic, but when it came out, there was significant money to help get passenger rail deeper into Southwest Virginia. Currently, if a person wants to head from the NRV to DC on the rail line, they have to take a 6:40am bus from Virginia Tech's campus (parking not included) to the Roanoke station then wait about an hour, with no indoor facilities, for the train. The money from the state is an important step in making sure that