Former Governor Tim Kaine (D) discussed local and regional rail transportation projects this past Saturday night in Dale City, taking time out to discuss policy after giving a pep-talk to Prince William County Democrats during the local party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner.

Locally, the consensus among elected officials in the western part of the county is that the Virginia Railway Express should be extended west from the Broad Run station near Manassas Regional Airport out to Gainesville. The controversy comes from whether to then bring it out to Haymarket, which is less of a commercial area than Gainesville.

Residents and local elected officials have said having an end station that far west in the county would encourage commuters from neighboring counties to the west and north, such as Fauquier, Loudoun, Warren and Clarke, to park in Haymarket.

That, in turn, would mean additional traffic on the road in what is a mostly residential area already dealing with congestion along U.S. 15.

The opposing argument is that by encouraging more Virginia residents to use VRE, the less traffic there will ultimately be on all nearby roads throughout the day.

Kaine said his job as a senator would be to help provide the funding for the VRE project, not necessarily choose its terminus points.

"Here's my take on that: local attitudes about this are very important and I have not had that conversation, so I wouldn't know what the balance is of who would want it or not," said Kaine.

On the VRE in general, Kaine added, "If you took that away and you put those cars on the roads every day, I mean, what is a difficult situation will become completely intolerable."

He mentioned that ultimately the final destination point "would be something the county would really have to wrestle with" while it would be his job to make sure that the decision is paid in part by the federal government through whatever obligations it owes.

"I won't be picking the sites. The senator works on the funding," said Kaine. "I'm a big supporter of rail and public transit."

Kaine also weighed in on whether there should be an above ground or below ground end point for the so-called Rail-to-Dulles Metro line that is set to connect Tysons's Corner to Dulles International Airport in Sterling.

While public outcry has generally favored the above-ground option largely because it is hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority voted last month in favor of the underground station, which advocates contest is aesthetically more appealing.

Kaine said he supported "the less expensive option.

"Not only because it's less expensive, but it's because that's what Loudoun and Fairfax want," said Kaine. "So, the airport authority cannot operate in a vacuum. They have to operate in partnership to local governments whose citizens are paying the tolls. And so when Loudoun and Fairfax weigh in very heavily (on) that in this and say, 'Look, we want the less expensive option for a variety of reasons including that it'll be easier on our citizens,' I think the airports authority should listen to them."

The former governor and Democratic National Committee chairman is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring first-term Sen. Jim Webb (D), who defeated former Sen. George Allen (R) in 2006.

Allen, who also served as governor during the mid-1990s, is seeking a return to the Senate this year and faces four declared challengers in the Republican primary. Brian injury advocate Julien Modica, who briefly ran for Senate in 2008, is the only declared challenger to Kaine in the Democratic primary. Kaine and Allen are considered the frontrunners for the race.