The good news: Amtrak will soon start a new line to Norfolk, meaning passengers to the Hampton Roads area will no longer have to trek across the James River to Newport News to catch a train. Hooray!

The bad news: The train won’t actually stop in either downtown Norfolk nor downtown Richmond, by far the two largest walkable and transit-friendly destinations in Virgina outside the DC area.

Although Amtrak operates a gorgeous station in downtown Richmond, it’s more expensive for trains to stop there, so only a handful do. Instead, most Richmond trains stop at Staples Mill Station, a shack in the middle of an industrial park, miles from anything walkable.

The Norfolk situation is better. The proposed station, at Harbor Park, is almost downtown, and although it’s more or less impossible to walk, at least there will be a handy light rail connection. Imperfect, but far preferable to what you get in Richmond if you have to stop at Staples Mill.

Here are a couple of maps to illustrate what’s going on.

Both maps by BeyondDC. Click to enlarge.