<p>My daughter has now figured out how to get her friend to DC while she herself is going to Charlottesville. The girl is going to take the 6:00PM train from Richmond to DC this Friday. The girls will be arriving from the south on I-95N. The Amtrak station is on Staples Mill Road which is off of I-64W. If they arrive in Richmond around 4:30-5:00PM, how bad will the traffic be getting through the Richmond areas on a typical Friday evening? </p>
<p>I don’t think they are allowing enough time for the girl to get her 6:00 train. Between traffic leaving home, to possible road construction and/or weather delays, I don’t believe they have enough fudge time built in. The train also leaves from the East Main Street station, but it leaves there 30 minutes earlier. The East Main Street station is closer coming in to Richmond, but the girls like the idea of the later train as they though it might give them more time. Of course if it is going to take 30 extra minutes to get to the Staples Mill station, then that isn’t going to help them.</p>
<p>Which station is easier to get to and which will allow them the most breathing room?</p>
<p>The Staples Mill Station is 100% easier to get in and out of than Main Street Station. Even though they will have to come a little further on up the interstate, Staples Mill is the better choice because it is just off the interstate and a couple of turns whereas Main Street Station is downtown and there are lots of one-way streets. I’ve lived here for years and don’t know how exactly to get in there. </p>
<p>Traffic in Richmond at 5:00 on a Friday can be hit/miss. If they get up to the downtown area by 4:30 they will be fine, but by 5:00 it could be a bit stickier, so you are wise to push them to leave wherever you are in time to make it here by 4:30. Usually the traffic isn’t that bad but if there is an accident it could be a different story. </p>
<p>I hope this helps. Let me know if you need further tips on the Richmond area!</p>
<p>No question between Staples Mill and Main St Station - Staples Mill is way easier and will have many less traffic issues on Friday afternoon / evening. I-95 and I-64 merge for a few miles around downtown and then split just north of there. She will probably hit a bit of a slowdown where 64 merges in from the east, but if she isn’t in the right most lane here, she should be fine. The slowdown is usually more on the 64 side than the 95 side. She should also stay in the middle lane until she passes the Boulevard exit, as the right lane slows down here quite a bit. Just after the Boulevard exit ramp, she should get into the right lane and then one more lane over (the entrance ramp from Boulevard becomes a fourth lane) and take the very next exit for 64 west towards Charlottesville. This will have traffic merging in from both sides from other highways, but it’s not bad. She will have about 1/2 mile to get all the way over to the right most lane for the Staples Mill Road (Route 33) exit. The right lane of this exit goes west, the left lane goes east. She should follow SM West for probably not quite a mile and the station’s parking lot and sign will be on the right. It is after the Dunkin Donuts on the left but before the McDonald’s on the right. It is just about two blocks after the big intersection of Hilliard / Glenside and Staples Mill Rd. There is free parking for the first two hours. If she can contact you and you have internet access, I suggest you check the train status (Staples Mill is abbreviated RVR on Amtrak) as there are often delays with the later trains. </p>
<p>She can get back to 64 west for her trip to C’ville by making a left out of the parking lot and retracing her steps towards 64w. Once she’s back on 64, tell her to travel in the left lane until after the 288 interchange as the right lane eventually becomes exit only (and then reappears later) and the middle and right lanes back up significantly especially at this time on evening due to the heavy concentration of offices, homes and malls in the west end of Richmond.</p>
<p>Feel free to p.m. me if you need anything else!</p>
<p>sewbusy-Thanks for the great directions! I will print these out for my daughter. I hope the train is late; it will give the girls some breathing room!!</p>
<p>You’ve already gotten good advice but I would like to add that the online reservations is a must. She will only need to swipe her credit card and get her ticket at the kiosk. </p>
<p>I would like to point out that the last train out is the 6 pm one, so if she misses it she is out of luck. The bus station would be difficult for them to find and I would recommend that the friend plan to take a taxi from the Amtrak station to the bus station if that happens.</p>
<p>One other thing–the Amtrak sign is easy to miss. It is not tall or bright or helpful. It’s red, white and blue and easy to drive by. Best of luck to them!!</p>
<p>Of course the reservation will be made in advance; I for one am not a gambler, especially on a holiday weekend!! Greyhound has a train at 10:15 if they don’t get to Amtrak on time. I would hate for the other girl to sit at the bus station on a Friday night, but at least we know it is an option.</p>
<p>Another option is for the girl to go to Charlottesville with my daughter, but there is limited transportation on Saturday. Again, Greyhound does has a bus in the morning, so there is a back up plan.</p>
<p>Wow - These messages have made me REALLY homesick. I grew up near Staples Mill Road and the Amtrak station. I haven’t been in the area for years. I do remember that Richmond traffic can be a bear! Hope all goes well and she makes the train.</p>
<p>I used to take the train out of Richmond often and I would bet that it will leave late - but, of course, I wouldn’t them to think that way. Maybe things have changed and the trains are more timely.</p>
<p>D takes the train often. It’s rarely on time. The Regional trains are more likely to be close to on time (as in within 30 min.) but the others can be hours late. If we could have reliable, on time train transportation along the East coast life would be sweet.</p>
<p>Snowball - The girls should be fine timewise barring any major accidents on the interstate. Staples Mill is not a big station - we usually get there about 10 minutes before the scheduled arrival for my sons. Usually the worst part is finding a parking space, so you might want to tell your daughter to pull up under the overhang and drop her friend off before parking if they wind up in a time crunch. Parking is best if you make a right after the ticket gate and then head towards Staples Mill Road and away from the building.
Also, I agree that the sign is easy to miss, so remind them that if they hit McD’s they’ve gone about a block or so too far and they should u-turn and pull into the first left turn lane(I think it’s the first one - in any event there’s no traffic light).
I’ll be out of town on friday, but if you p.m. me, I’ll be happy to give you my cell # in case they hit a 95 closure or something - I can tell them local roads.</p>
<p>You are right about the late trains. My daughter has taken the train between Syracuse and NYC several times and I do not think it has every been on time. Of course, if we plan on the train being late, it won’t be - Murphy’s Law!!</p>
<p>The child is on the road. She actually got up early to avoid traffic at home and should be in Richmond no later than 4:30;that accounts for a, lot of fudge time so there should be no problems with her friend getting to her train. The weather is being kind to them today; other than being cold, she will have clear skies. I am hoping with the cold weather for the south that there might not be any road construction; that would really make the traveling good!</p>