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The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

. It runs from Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 to Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad

The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. It is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system....

. The line's name pays homage to that railroad, which was a predecessor to the CSX.

Route description

At the northern (eastern) end of the line, the RF&P Sub connects to the Capital Subdivision, which runs to Baltimore, Maryland. Just before the Anacostia Railroad Bridge

Anacostia Railroad Bridge

The Anacostia Railroad Bridge is a railroad bridge crossing the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., USA. The bridge is owned by CSX Transportation...

 on the Capital Sub is the Virginia Avenue Tunnel

Virginia Avenue Tunnel

The Virginia Avenue Tunnel is a railroad tunnel in Washington, D.C. owned by CSX Transportation. It is part of the CSX RF&P Subdivision and serves freight trains along the eastern seaboard routes, providing a bypass around Union Station....

. South (west) of the tunnel is a branch to the Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 First Street Tunnel, which leads to Union Station and the Northeast Corridor

Northeast Corridor

The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...

. The Virginia Avenue Tunnel is used only for freight train

Freight train

A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...

s, while the First Street Tunnel is used only for passenger trains.

Continuing south, the RF&P Sub crosses the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 over the Long Bridge into Virginia, and passes through Alexandria and Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg (Amtrak station)

The Fredericksburg Amtrak station is located at 200 Lafayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is also the terminus of the Virginia Railway Express Fredericksburg Line. was also recently added by the city for the same purpose...

, ending in Richmond at the Richmond Terminal Subdivision.

Current operation

The RF&P Sub is part of CSX's eastern seaboard line, and carries freight trains, as well as passenger trains for Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 and Virginia Railway Express

Virginia Railway Express

The Virginia Railway Express is a regional/ commuter rail service that connects the Northern Virginia suburbs to Union Station in Washington, D.C., via two lines: the Fredericksburg Line from Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run/Airport station in Bristow,...

 (VRE). Freight traffic capacity on the subdivision has been limited by the dated design of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel. The tunnel is single-tracked

Single track (rail)

A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....

 and has restricted vertical clearance

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

, which precludes the use of double-stack freight cars.

Proposed modifications

In 2008 CSX proposed improvements to the RF&P Sub in what would be a public-private partnership

Public-private partnership

Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...

, as part of its National Gateway

National Gateway

National Gateway is a multi-stage railroad construction project in the United States promoted by CSX Transportation, a unit of CSX Corporation. It is designed to improve rail connections between ports in the U.S. mid-Atlantic seaboard and the Midwest by upgrading bridges and tunnels to allow taller...

initiative. The improvements would enable use of double-stack cars, and include a modified or rebuilt tunnel, and lowering of track levels at several presently-restricted roadway overpasses.