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Charlotte Gateway Station and Railroad Improvements


dubone

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15 hours ago, kermit said:

These two things are a very big deal for rail expansion, but they can’t remove the physical barrier of the Blue Ridge.

So that's your argument? Mountains in the way? ....I joke.  So what I'm hearing Atlanta already has the rail infrastructure in place and to get to Chicago from Tampa, Atlanta makes more sense because the tracks would or do just skirt the Apps? Whereas to come through Charlotte for that passenger would inevitably end up going through Atlanta anyway?? 

I'm not up to speed with rail obviously. Can talk Airlines and airports etc all day tho... thx for the insight friend.

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It is very cool to see how geography still plays a central role in how our civilization develops.

That said, what is honestly going on with Atlanta's rail situation? It seems to me like they hardly even have a station, and that too it's weirdly located in a place that is not really walkable or connected to MARTA from most of the urban core. Wikipedia says Atlanta Peachtree station served just 35k passengers in 2021 - barely over a THIRD of what Charlotte's dinky old station (also not in a good location) had in the same year... despite Atlanta being more than double the size of Charlotte. This is very odd to me. I guess it helps that Atlanta has the busiest airport in the world, so people just choose to fly instead?

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6 hours ago, Third Strike said:

• Fourth Piedmont service starting next year

Based on the title slide the presentation was from September 2022. If that is the case (its unclear from the video) then the latest news on the 4th Piedmont should still be correct (sometime this summer rather than next year)

Confirmation of planned 110mph speeds on the S-Line north of Raleigh (and 2030 expected open date) was good news.

Edited by kermit
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On 3/25/2023 at 11:18 AM, Third Strike said:

There was a presentation from Virginians for High Speed Rail, hosting the director of NCDOT’s rail division. Lots of info regarding the current and future state of rail in NC/VA:

Some notes relating to Charlotte:

• 2026 is the year they are aiming for the completion of the Gateway Station 

• Fourth Piedmont service starting next year 

• Many projects for the S-Line, between Raleigh and Richmond, are planned or are being currently worked on. Once completed, it would mean quicker and more efficient passenger service for cities along the NCRR

• Spoke briefly about the Salisbury-to-Asheville line

• On the “Potential Passenger Rail Opportunities” slide, I noticed a new station in Kings Mountain, the P&N as a passenger corridor between Charlotte and Gastonia, and the O-Line (Red Line) from Charlotte to Mooresville

• Continued focus on improving rail along the corridor with focus on 110 MPH, grade separations, track improvements, etc. 

• Not completely Charlotte related, but a Raleigh to Hampton Roads passenger rail is a project that the NCDOT is interested in

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I'm no rail guy but it seems like it would be benficial to run the Asheville route from Greensboro through Winston and Statesville to pick up more travelers ?

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52 minutes ago, DavieNative said:

I'm no rail guy but it seems like it would be benficial to run the Asheville route from Greensboro through Winston and Statesville to pick up more travelers ?

Yea, that is not a bad plan to integrate WS into the rail network (I would suggest the train originates in Raleigh). But, NS has shut down their tracks south of Winston (a large bridge needs to be replaced) and NS is unlikely to have warm feelings about using that part of the O-Line to get to Statesville  (same tracks as are an issue for the Charlotte Red Line) for passenger rail. 

Trains could run south from Winston on the WSSB tracks to Lexington (some additional work would be needed on the Lexington junction) but that would just make Asheville run times even longer.

Edited by kermit
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1 minute ago, kermit said:

Yea, that is not a bad plan to integrate WS into the rail network (I would suggest the train originates in Raleigh). But, NS has shut down their tracks south of Winston (a large bridge needs to be replaced) and NS is unlikely to have warm feelings about using that part of the O-Line (same tracks as are an issue for the Charlotte Red Line) for passenger rail. 

Trains could run south from Winston on the WSSB tracks to Lexington (some additional work would be needed in Lexington) but that would just make Asheville service even slower.

Makes sense, I know Winston used imminent domain a while back to aquire the old train station for future use. Norkfolk Southern really sucks with that line and using it as some kind of bargaining chip.

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  • 4 weeks later...

^^ truly fantastic news.

Who would have guessed that people love having complete freedom to relax, engage in work, or even nap, on a fast, vastly safer alternative to spending hours in a car where you are forced to alternate between hyper-focus so that you literally don't die from everyone doing 60-80 mph , and then coming to a stand still / crawl in traffic jams, that still rob you of your attention because you must still remain focused on the task at hand of inching along bumper to bumper.

 

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Last reports from CATS said that the Gateway Station developer agreement was planned to be released in “April 2023”.

I don’t think I overlooked it, its just not here…

Edited by kermit
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  • 2 weeks later...

In terms of the cost of our (well, the developer actually) foot dragging on Gateway. The WSJ reports on housing price spikes around Brightline stations in South Florida. FWIW the trip from Miami to West Palm is 1:15. For comparison its 1:30 to Greensboro and 3:11 to Raleigh from Charlotte at current (slower than necessary) speeds.

Quote

In Fort Lauderdale, home values for residences within the ZIP Code near the station have appreciated by 67% from 2018—when the station opened—to last year. That compares with a 33% median price increase for the Broward County area over that period. In West Palm Beach, homes near the station appreciated 37% versus a 30% median increase for the area.

The difference was most stark in Miami. Property values near the station were up 83% in price over that period, compared with a 38% median increase for the Miami area. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-biggest-south-florida-housing-boom-is-near-the-rail-stations-d6101467

Edit: corrected WPB travel time

Edited by kermit
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9 hours ago, kermit said:

In terms of the cost of our (well, the developer actually) foot dragging on Gateway. The WSJ reports on housing price spikes around Brightline stations in South Florida. FWIW the trip from Miami to West Palm is just under 2 hours. For comparison its 1.5 hrs to Greensboro and 3:11 to Raleigh from Charlotte at current (slower than necessary) speeds.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-biggest-south-florida-housing-boom-is-near-the-rail-stations-d6101467

My friend rode it up from Boca Raton to West Palm for dinner and they loved it!  and it is now up to Orlando.  Their stations are beautiful let me tell you.  

https://www.gobrightline.com/train-stations

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