Heat issues hinder N.Va. train line.

Byline: Chip Jones

Jun. 23--The heat is on CSX Corp. -- again.

This week, the head of the Virginia Railway Express pleaded for relief from operating mix-ups and heat-related procedures that have created logjams for passengers and hampered the commuter railroad's on-time performance.

Dale Zehner, chief executive officer of the Northern Virginia commuter line, wrote a CSX executive Monday to express "frustration and disappointment" with the treatment his trains are getting on the 55-mile Fredericksburg-to-Washington line.

The VRE, a publicly owned transportation partnership, pays CSX about $3.6 million to run on CSX lines. It provides nearly 16,000 passenger trips a day.

This week's flap is reminiscent of …