North Carolina Intercity Rail Transit

[cityboi]

This is definitely great news. I'm really looking forward to a passenger rail service linking Raleigh/Greensboro/Charlotte to Atlanta. That should cut a 5 hour commute down quite a bit.  Not everyone takes airplanes like myself. Too scared to fly. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by cityboi

[kermit]

today I find myself down at the coast. I have a bit less than a 1/2 tank of gas,  there is not another gallon to be found for many miles (I looked). I need to be back in Charlotte on Saturday, which is not currently looking likely.

A train from Wilmington to Charlotte would certainly solve this problem....

[kermit]

1) Renderings mean nothing

2) Regardless #1, It is really nice to see a passenger train on the NS tracks through downtown Winston featured in this rendering of the next phase of the Innovation Quarter. Looks a bit like a Piedmont consist. Connecting the Innovation Quarter to RTP and the soon-to-be Charlotte medical school complex NEEDS to be on NCDOT's radar. Fast rail between these places will create massive economic benefits for the whole state.

 

https://www.innovationquarter.com/press-releases/phase-ii-new-development/
 

Edited June 14, 2021 by kermit

[jthomas]

1 hour ago, kermit said:

1) Renderings mean nothing

2) It is really nice to see a passenger train on the NS tracks through downtown Winston featured in this rendering of the next phase of the Innovation Quarter. Looks a bit like a Piedmont consist.

 

https://www.innovationquarter.com/press-releases/phase-ii-new-development/
 

Nice catch! Like you said, renderings mean nothing, and AFAIK there is no proposal or even chatter about bringing service to Winston. The spot where the train is shown in the rendering would actually be a good station location.

I've spent way more time than I should thinking about stuff like this, but there's not a great way to get service to Winston without a fair amount of capital investment. I think the best bet in the near-ish term would be to run the proposed Wilmington service through Raleigh to Winston. This would give a one-seat ride along the entire I-40 corridor and could be done today on existing track layout, although Greensboro to Winston would probably be pretty slow without track upgrades. Winston to Charlotte is not possible without new track construction. The Winston-Salem Southbound (the curving track to the right of the freeway at the very top of the image) goes to Lexington, but lacks a connection in the proper quadrant to the NCRR. A bypass to the east of Lexington, roughly from where the WSSB crosser US 52 to where the NCRR crosses US 64, would allow trains from Winston to serve the new Lexington station on their way to Charlotte - this would take about 3 miles of new track.

[kermit]

3 hours ago, jthomas said:

..The Winston-Salem Southbound (the curving track to the right of the freeway at the very top of the image) goes to Lexington, but lacks a connection in the proper quadrant to the NCRR. A bypass to the east of Lexington, roughly from where the WSSB crosser US 52 to where the NCRR crosses US 64, would allow trains from Winston to serve the new Lexington station on their way to Charlotte - this would take about 3 miles of new track.

I am no expert but I always thought that Lexington Junction could be made to work for Charlotte-Winston trains with only a limited amount of property purchases. It would require moving the Lexington station just to the west of the junction site. Elevation makes it a little complicated, but I think its doable.

[kermit]

According to NCDOT ridership on core services has nearly returned to prepandemic levels.

Quote

Carolinian and Piedmont ridership is on the rise as the state recovers from the pandemic. Both train services are among the best performing in the Amtrak system.

The Carolinian is a leader among state-sponsored passenger rail services for ridership recovery as compared to pre-pandemic levels. Ridership hit the lowest point in April 2020, down 94% compared to 2019 levels.

With the recovery, the Carolinian is back to pre-pandemic levels and continues to rise as passengers return to normal activity. Piedmont ridership has increased to approximately 90% of pre-pandemic weekly levels and continues to increase.

https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/Rail-Division-Resources/Documents/MayJune eRailReport.pdf
 

[rancenc]

Great news for Rocky Mount on the intermodal rail front!

https://www.wral.com/carolina-connector-to-bring-thousands-of-jobs-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-into-nc-through-rocky-mount-area/19783199/

[Merthecat]

The construction of a new passenger tunnel and platform at Salisbury Station was approved by the City's Historic Preservation Commission:

https://salisburypost.com/2021/08/13/hpc-approves-platform-tunnel-installation-at-train-station-new-street-light-near-fame/

They elected to build a tunnel rather than a bridge, which some feared would overwhelm the historic station.  The new additions are set to be designed to fit in with the Mission-style architecture of the old building, which is great.

Design is currently at about 60%, and another staff review will be completed before construction bids start coming in.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Merthecat

[cowboy_wilhelm]

I'm assuming they're putting the second platform directly on track 2 and low-level? This would be a good opportunity to add one or two sidings for the platforms to allow for future triple or quadruple tracking and to not foul the main line, plus the opportunity for high platforms and level-boarding. Could build and open the new platform then rebuild the second a little closer to the station. Oh well.

[kermit]

Not much new here, and it is certainly no guarantee of progress,  but it is exciting that Amtrak has added some new route information on its Connect US initiative.

For Raleigh-Wilmington:

https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/raleigh-wilmington/

And for Salisbury-Asheville:

https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/asheville-salisbury/

Amtrak sez the train ride from Salisbury to Asheville would be 3:45 (2:12 by car per google).

Not that Black Mountain needs any help in expanding tourism, but they may be a bigger beneficiary than Asheville.

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by kermit

[XRZ.ME]

https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/charlotte-atlanta/

 

It also posted new Charlotte to Atlanta service, not the HSR project.

Running 3 daily 5 hour round trip on existing route.

[tozmervo]

15 hours ago, XRZ.ME said:

https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/charlotte-atlanta/

 

It also posted new Charlotte to Atlanta service, not the HSR project.

Running 3 daily 5 hour round trip on existing route.

You don't build good will in South Carolina by not acknowledging a single SC campus in your list. (USC Upstate, Furman, Clemson..)

[Merthecat]

On 8/19/2021 at 12:18 PM, tozmervo said:

You don't build good will in South Carolina by not acknowledging a single SC campus in your list. (USC Upstate, Furman, Clemson..)

They missed several on the Asheville-Salisbury route as well.  Montreat, Warren Wilson, and Lenoir-Rhyne all got left out.

[kermit]

some numbers to think about when folks start balking at the cost of Wilmington and Asheville inter city rail.

 

[tozmervo]

There's an RFQ out to select a designer for a new train station in Hillsborough. 

[jthomas]

Here is the site plan linked in the RFQ. If I'm looking at it correctly, the station location appears to be in the southeast quadrant of the NC 86 crossing over the railroad, on a site currently occupied by baseball/softball fields. This strikes me as about the best location possible. Easily accessible by car, but also within a 0.5 mile walk of the heart of town (note the pedestrian easement leading from the station to NC 86). It also looks like they are provisioning for retail-type buildings lining the street up to the station. Very promising overall - I look forward to seeing how this develops.

[kermit]

Pasted from the Charlotte Gateway thread (sorry about dup)

Jon Ossoff is trying to get a $10 billion allocation for CLT-ATL HSR into the reconciliation bill. 

https://www.onlineathens.com/story/news/2021/10/14/jon-ossoff-seeking-10-billion-high-speed-rail-line-athens-stop/8451847002/

Its a shame we don’t have any senators who give a crap about the future of the state, otherwise we might have seen an allocation for S-Line construction.

Edited October 15, 2021 by kermit

[kermit]

I see this and I see a sign of commuter rail to Raleigh in the near future:

(but I have a vivid imagination and no actual information about the NCDOT purchase of the CSX tracks...)

[kermit]

While I have not seen any details on the Infrastructure Bill, there should be plenty of state grant passenger rail funds in it to get S-Line construction rolling. NCDOT will need to apply for those funds, but they have a pretty good track record.

[kermit]

Quote

Winston-Salem pushing to bring passenger rail to the city. The city wants to be included on an Amtrak leg that would extend to Asheville.

https://greensboro.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/winston-salem-plans-push-to-bring-back-passenger-rail/article_9b69b5c0-7951-5db3-a8d0-3e79fa7588b0.html

I hijacked this from Citiboi's post in the Triad Transit thread (hat tip). First, its really interesting that the Winston powers-that-be feel like passenger rail service is important to the city. While I don't think what is described in the article will ever happen (running trains down the non-functional O-Line from Winston to Barber Junction and then onto Asheville), I think they are missing a more cost-effective possibility for the state. Asheville trains could run from Raleigh to Greensboro -- Winston, then onto the WSSB to Lexington (those tracks are in good shape) and then (using a new junction) onto the NCRR to Salisbury. Such a route would be kinda slow (Asheville service is never gonna be speedy), but would provide useful new frequencies from Raleigh.

The bigger benefit to the state would be tieing Winston into the state's urban core rail corridor and allowing for much stronger connections between the Innovation Quarter and the Triangle, as well as WF Baptist and their new med school campus in Charlotte. Longer term, commuter rail between Lexington -- Winston -- Gboro -- Burlington would also be a big positive for the Triad.  

Having said all that, if a miracle happened and the state could gain access to the O-Line then the associated benefits for Charlotte commuter rail would certainly make that investment more cost effective.

Edited December 28, 2021 by kermit

[jthomas]

Apologies for the paywall, but it looks like CSX wants to build a new freight yard near Sanford:

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2022/01/25/csx-lee-county-sanford-rezoning-rail-yard.html

The site is located roughly where the CSX S-Line and the ACWR (?) cross. This yard is close to an interchange with the line that will serve the new Toyota plant near Greensboro, and is also positioned near any development that happens at the Chatham and Moncure megasites. I am curious about what this means for a couple of things:

- the rumored commuter service from Sanford to Raleigh (which would use the S-Line)

- the trackage between Sanford and Greensboro, currently owned by NS. The NCRR is a partner in the development of the Toyota site, and it seems like CSX is banking on handling some of that traffic. Will the state buy the line?

 

[kermit]

The circus train cars NCDOT owned that were waiting to be auctioned caught fire. An undetermined number of them appear to be a total loss.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article259266829.html

[kermit]

I am glad someone is trying but I would bet this is just another rail initiative that goes nowhere. State rep in Greenville is pushing for studies for passenger rail to his city.

Honestly a Raleigh-Wendell-Zebulon-Wilson-Greenville route is pretty solid in combination with Raleigh commuter rail. Unfortunately I suspect the route would actually end up being Raleigh-Selma-Wilson on the NCRR which would bypass the most fertile commuter corridor.

https://www.witn.com/2022/03/30/state-representative-spearheading-state-local-partnership-deliver-passenger-rail-service-into-eastern-carolina/

Edited April 1, 2022 by kermit

[PuppiesandKittens]

Why not build a train station at the Charlotte airport and extend Piedmont trains to the airport?  Surely that would help ridership.  The tracks run through the airport premises.

[JRCLT]

Why not build a train station at the Charlotte airport and extend Piedmont trains to the airport?  Surely that would help ridership.  The tracks run through the airport premises.

That was the plan at some point not sure if it is still a plan.