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West Virginia offers a host of transportation options. Over 37,000 miles (59,545 kilometers) of public
roads innervate the Mountain State. Major automobile routes include six major Interstate highways:
I-64, I-77 (also called the West Virginia Turnpike, the state’s only toll road), I-79, I-68, I-70, and
I-81.
Air travel in West Virginia is served primarily by 40 airports, nine of which offer commercial
airline service. The nine largest airports are Yeager Airport (CRW) in Charleston, Beckley Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) in Beckley, Bluefield/Mercer County Airport (BLF) in Bluefield, North Central West Virginia Airport (CKB) in Bridgeport, the Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisburg, the Greater Cumberland Regional Airport in Wiley Ford, the Tri-State Airport (HTS) in Huntington, Morgantown Municipal Airport in Morgantown, and the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport near Parkersburg.
West Virginia’s railways contribute greatly to the economy of the state, and carry over 226 million
tons (205 million metric tons) of freight annually. Amtrak
provides passenger rail service on its Capitol Limited route, with stops in Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry, as well as the
Cardinal route, with stops in White Sulphur Springs, Alderson, Hinton, Prince,
Thurmond, Montgomery, Charleston, and Huntington. Additionally, the MARC Train Service (MARC) offers commuter rail service on Brunswick Line connecting Washington, D.C. to Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg.
While West Virginia is an inland state, it does contain over 400 miles (644 kilometers) of navigable
streams, thereby providing key water transportation access to a network of river systems in major
markets such as the Great Lakes, Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Ohio River Navigation System is the principal waterway of importance in the state,
and is estimated to carry some 150 million tons (136 million metric tons) of freight each year.
Commuters have several public transportation options in West Virginia. The Charleston and Kanawha
County area is served by the Kanawha Valley Regional
Transportation Authority (KVTRA) via a fleet of buses and vans. Residents of the Eastern Panhandle
region are served by the Eastern Panhandle Transit Authority (EPTA) "PanTran" buses. Tri
River Transit serves residents of Lincoln, Logan, and Boone Counties. Potomac Valley Transit Authority offers routes in Hampshire, Mineral, Grant, Hardy,
and Pendleton Counties, including Petersburg. Bluefield
Area Transit (B.A.T) services Mercer and McDowell Counties with routes into Bluefield, Princeton,
and Welch. The Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority
offers the Easy Rider Bus System to residents of the Parkersburg and Vienna areas. Preston County is
served by the Buckwheat Express.
Intercity bus travel to West Virginia is provided by Greyhound.
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