FCPS, SACC and VRE Service All Cancelled for Friday

Fairfax County Public Schools have announced that they will be closed on Friday, Sept. 9. School Age Child Care (SACC) Centers are also closed.

The following activities in schools and on school grounds are canceled:

• extracurricular activities
• interscholastic contests
• team practices
• field trips
• middle school after-school programs
• professional learning and training courses
• all adult and community education classes
• recreation programs

Offices are open with an unscheduled leave policy in effect. Emergency personnel are to report to work.

Virginia Rail Express cancelled its Friday, Sept. 9, service.  This explanation was posted on the VRE website.

"As you may recall, our CEO recently sent out an email talking about the dangers of water to a railroad. We know that you have noticed the excessively wet weather we have experienced recently. Unfortunately, this has done some significant damage to the railroads that we operate over. Portions of both rail lines are currently under water, and there is at least one area where the track bed has washed out from under the tracks.

"As a result, VRE has made the decision not to operate service on Friday, September 9. With more rain expected overnight, we prefer to give the railroads the time they need to ensure that the tracks are fully operational. In addition, because the track issues happened during service, several of our train sets are currently being housed in our mid-day storage yard in DC, making the logistics even more complicated.

"While we know that this may be inconvenient to many of you, this decision was made in the best interest of your safety. We expect to be fully operational on Monday. If that changes, we will be sure to notify you as soon as possible."