RICHMOND — Wealthy Virginians used to travel to NFL games in Washington aboard a 1919 luxury railcar now displayed at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond.
Railcar ONE, pronounced “Car Oh-N-Ee,” is fitted with bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, showers and an observation deck. The train was the equivalent of taking a corporate jet today, according to Elli Bosch, the science content and research specialist at the museum.
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad bought the Pullman Green car from American Car and Foundry in 1936 and changed the name, which was “Berwick.”
“The car was used by VIPs,” Bosch stated. “That may have included the RF&P President or other company officials, legislators or government officials, or clients.”
The company even held a block of nearly 600 season tickets to Washington games, according to Bosch. When RF&P discontinued its operation of special trains in 1971, they relinquished the season tickets but kept a dozen to entertain clients like legislators and business leaders.
Times have changed. The team was renamed the Washington Commanders in 2022 and now play in Maryland. The train was retired in 1991.
But a Washington commute is once again on fans’ minds with the recent announcement the team will return to a redeveloped Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in 2030.
The estimated $3.7 billion project to bring back the Commanders was approved by the City Council. The stadium will seat approximately 65,000 people, alongside new housing, retail and green space, according to a press release from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The commute could be more convenient for fans than the notoriously difficult trip to Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
“I think if they can do something with the Metro, it would make it much easier, rather than trying to go through all that traffic to Landover,” said Ben Heltezel, an avid Commanders fan. “One of the best sporting experiences I’ve ever been to was in Spain, in Madrid, and just the way that they use the train to get over there was super effective and smart.”
Carlos Olmos Jr., a fan from Alexandria, said the return to RFK will make games more convenient to attend.
“There are a lot of Commanders fans that are in the Richmond area [and] the Alexandria area that don’t really go all the way up to Landover because it’s kind of a hike,” Olmos said. “It’s kind of a hassle to get to Landover using the Metro.”
The stadium is accessible by public transit, Bowser stated in a release. The current Stadium Armory Metro stop was used by the old stadium. The district will invest $202 million for utilities infrastructure, roadways and a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority study, according to Bowser’s press release.
Some fans want an even closer stadium stop, and some residents think a station on the north side of the stadium campus is needed, regardless of whether the stadium was even built. Officials “may be looking to expand other transit options,” Bowser told WTOP.
Capital One Arena, home to the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals, is located near metro stations that provide direct access to the arena and downtown area. It trades the dead parking lot of Landover for a lively Metro crowd and is more convenient, Olmos said.
“When I go to a Wizards game or a Capitals game, I just go to Capital One Arena,” Olmos said. “So I just go on the Metro and me and a couple buddies and it’s cool, we get there and then it’s just easy.”
For the moment, Amtrak will not play a role in connecting the broader Virginia fan base to the new RFK stadium until other projects are finished. Both the stadium and the Long Bridge Project are not expected to finish construction until 2030, according to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and the NFL.
When asked if Amtrak would expand service once the Commanders are back at RFK, public relations manager Beth Toll stated in an email that there would not be added service in the short term.
“In the short term, there will not be any additional service as a result of the new RFK in DC because we cannot expand any service to/from Virginia until the Long Bridge Project is complete,” Toll stated. “Additionally, all of the projects along the I-95 corridor (i.e., not New River Valley or Ettrick) need to be completed before we can expand service between WAS and RVR/RVM.”
