Hampton Roads Tide debuts on Friday

Hampton Roads Transit’s The Tide, the first light-rail system in Virginia, will open to the public on Friday and begin carrying paying customers on Monday. To help inaugurate the new service, HRT employees and local residents will serve as Tide Guides, distributing schedules and showing customers how to use the ticket machines. Joining them will be about 50 employees from INIT, which supplied the passenger counting technology for the rail line. “I’m proud of the hard working women and men at HRT and our contractors for their dedication,” said HRT president and CEO Philip A. Shucet in a statement. “The start of light rail service in Norfolk is a game changer. It marks the return of regular train service to downtown Norfolk and offers commuters the first new transportation choice in a generation.” Link to full story in Railway Age.

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