Rail advocates released a report today calling for new east-west train service from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the beach.

They call it the Commonwealth Corridor and it fills a vital need.

"We’ve seen a real expansion in rail ridership but all of our lines are north-south," said Trip Pollard with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "Having an east-west line would link 45% of our jobs, it would service communities where the bulk of our anticipated population is coming and give 3.7 million Virginians additional access to passenger rail."

And he says, it would reduce pollution.

The SELC has joined Virginians for High-Speed Rail, and three other regional groups to ask the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to begin a feasibility study on the proposed Commonwealth Corridor that, among other things, would link Richmond to Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Christiansburg.

*Editor's Note: The Southern Environmental Law Center is a sponsor of VPM.