And all of this in the next 10 years.

To create the Commonwealth Connector, rail lines that aren’t currently used for passenger trains would have to be upgraded. Additionally, track time would have to be rented from the private railroads, whose primary business is hauling freight, not catering to passengers; rail advocates note that negotiating for space and time on these tracks can be challenging.

Finally, there might not be enough rolling stock to fill the new demand. Amtrak already is low on equipment, the proposal notes; recent expansions have been accomplished by refurbishing older passenger cars, however, and the same might work for the Commonwealth Connector.

The route would serve nearly 3.7 million Virginians who live within 20 miles of a train station, the group says. Many of these are millennials who prefer not to own cars. Other users would be tourists, college students, business travelers and military personnel who prefer train travel over highways.

The connector could eliminate the need to drive over 37 million passenger miles, cut fuel consumption by nearly 800,000 gallons and reduce airborne carbon pollution by 15.4 million pounds, the group says.