Speakers at the public hearing last night on the state's proposed rail plan said investing in Virginia's railroads is a good idea.

"Rail is absolutely critical to the effort to transform Virginia's transportation system," said Richmond's Trip Pollard with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

But that vision faces challenges, officials said: Where is the $5 billion for those rail investments going to come from, and who's going to pay to run the system once someone makes the investments?

From now through 2035, the state will have only an estimated $1.3 billion for railroad capital projects.

"We're going to have to find ways to share the costs and benefits," said Matthew O. Tucker, director of the state's Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

Virginia's population is growing faster than the nation's, the plan points out. The state's highways are increasingly congested. Air travel within the state is limited and expensive. And Virginia's railroad system is reaching the limits of its capacity even as demand for cargo and passenger service grows.

These developments "could jeopardize the commonwealth's ability to maintain a business environment that has earned it the title of best state in the country for business," the plan warns.

Complicating public efforts to improve rail service in Virginia, private freight railroads own all of the 3,365 miles of track in the state, officials pointed out.

Among the proposals in the plan are: