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The Virginia Railway Express’ new parking garage at the Manassas Park Station officially opened Tuesday, and while it might be another reason for commuters to avoid driving on congested state Route 28, it’s part of the plan to improve travel connectivity in the region.

Located a few stops from the quickly developing National Landing — the home of Amazon’s second headquarters — VRE cited future demand in 2017 in building the $35.2 million facility, which adds 700 new parking spaces to the existing 600-space lot.

At the moment, daily VRE ridership has been approximately 11,000 passengers. However, the new Manassas Park garage project supports anticipated growth for the railway system, which could include weekend service and increased travel in both directions.

VRE currently operates only on weekdays, as it caters to commuters primarily traveling toward D.C. in the morning, and those traveling south in the Manassas and Fredericksburg corridors in the afternoon.

With a recently opened Manassas Park City Hall and library, the new VRE station is a component of Park Central, part of the City Center Redevelopment District, which envisions a mixed-use, transit-oriented town center integrating residential, retail, and commercial spaces with VRE service.