Virginia ordered train as an alternative (7)
I believe the answer is:
variant
'alternative' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'virginia ordered train' is the wordplay.
'virginia' becomes 'va' (US state abbreviation).
'ordered' is an anagram indicator.
'train' anagrammed gives 'riant'.
'va'+'riant'='VARIANT'
'as an' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for variant that I've seen before include "Unusual form" , "Non-standard version" , "another form" , "different from the norm" , "not of the usual type" .)