Yesterday a small crowd of 250 people joined Governor Kaine to welcome the start of the first state-funded intercity passenger train, according to the Washington Post.

State officials said they expect 51,000 passengers a year to ride the Lynchburg-based train, with about 70 percent coming from the Lynchburg and Charlottesville area.

The train has three years to prove itself successful, or the service will be removed. Also, there is the opportunity for it to extend service to Roanoke and beyond if ridership is high.

The addition of this service will help connect residents in the Lynchburg area to DC, and will help to boost the local economy. Both of these are great for protecting home values.

"Virginia launches its first state-funded intercity passenger train Thursday from Lynchburg to Washington, a move that will enhance mass-transit options for Northern Virginia commuters and people across the state.

'This is very big and something that is coming after 2 1/2 years of solid hard work,' Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer said Wednesday, when the train made an inaugural run. 'There is incredible enthusiasm for the kind of mobility this new service has to offer.'

The new service is part of a $17.2 million, three-year pilot program the state is running, and fully funding, to determine whether enhanced rail service is viable in Virginia. The pilot program will offer two trains, one from Richmond and one from Lynchburg, that will travel to Union Station and then on to Boston. Service between the Virginia terminuses and Washington will include stops at some Virginia Railway Express stations; service between Washington and Boston will include stops in Philadelphia and New York."

Read the full story.

Also, watch a video of the yesterday's event from WSLS 10.