Amtrak will begin operating trains to serve as training for locomotive engineers and conductors to learn the tracks and territory between Petersburg and Norfolk, Va. These trains will carry no passengers and will operate two times per day, Monday through Saturday.

The new Amtrak Virginia service, open to passengers, starting December 12, 2012, and will extend Northeast Regional service to and from Norfolk.

Tickets are available for this new service via AmtrakVirginia.com, the iPhone app or Android app.

The round-trip train will bring intercity passenger rail service to Norfolk for the first time since 1977, and will provide a same-seat trip from Norfolk to Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and other stations along the Northeast Corridor.