Virginia Avenue Tunnel

Virginia Avenue Tunnel

Undated photograph of the northwest entrance to the tunnel taken from New Jersey Avenue SE
Overview
Location	Washington, D.C.
System	CSX Transportation
Operation
Opened	1872
Rebuilt	2015–2018
Owner	CSX Transportation
Operator	CSX Transportation
Traffic	Train
Character	Freight
Technical
Length	3,788 feet (1,155 m)
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	25 mph (40 km/h)
Tunnel clearance	18.25 feet (5.56 m) max. for original tunnel; 21.25 feet (6.48 m) for rebuilt tunnels[1]: 2–4 [2]: 44
Width	28 feet (8.5 m)

The Virginia Avenue Tunnel is a pair of railroad tunnels 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.

The pair of single tracked tunnels is located under Virginia Avenue SE, from 12th Street SE to 2nd Street SE. The eastern portal connects to the Anacostia Railroad Bridge and the CSX Capital Subdivision. At the western end the RF&P Sub runs to the Long Bridge into Virginia.^[3]

CSX built the tunnels to replace a single tunnel constructed in 1870-1872 by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P). That tunnel had deteriorated over the prior 140 years and CSX needed to increase the capacity to allow double-stacked containers to pass through and to allow for traffic in both directions in preparation for expected increases in rail traffic due to the widening of the Panama Canal. Construction began in 2015 and the project completed in 2018.^[4] The new tunnels were extended to 12th St SE, where the old one had ended at 11th St. SE.