Commuter Rail - Garner to West Durham

[orulz]

@colbyjd3

5. Saved the best for last. NCDOT and NCRR have jointly submitted a grant request for double-tracking the corridor between Cary and Durham. This would include a multitude of upgrades that would speed up service on the corridor and would also be a huge win for potential commuter rail. I would not be surprised if winning this grant reduced the overall projected cost of the commuter rail. I imagine it would also make it much easier to get the feds to strongarm Norfolk Southern into cooperating (I mean, really, what excuse would they have at that point?). Knowing the way things seem to be going in USDOT, I would be very surprised if we did not receive this grant. I feel good about this one, y’all.

After taking a few days to digest this, something doesn’t add up.

If all this double tracking and grade separation work will cost just $66 million, then what the f*** comprises the rest of the ~$2 billion projected cost of commuter rail?! Are they replacing all of the railroad spikes with solid gold?