I suppose then that if significant improvements in travel time cannot be achieved, I’d prefer for money to be spent making our urban core areas more viable by foot, bike, and by other local transit solutions first.
I agree with @GucciLittlePig that I may take a train from point to point so that I don’t need to deal with my car upon arrival to a walkable location on the other end of my trip. I’d prefer for those coming to Raleigh also have that expectation fulfilled so that they too can take a train for the same reason.
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I agree that branding SEHSR as a “Raleigh to Richmond” project, rather than as a phase of a larger project, has been unfortunate, but I can understand itnat the same time.
Really it’s an enormous, tremendously complicated project, with a BUNCH of phases, each of which is big enough to be considered a project in its own right.
- Suburban Raleigh (Raleigh to WF) - fully funded under Biden but on hold by Trump
- Rural NC (WF to Henderson) - unfunded
- Rural Southern VA (Henderson to Petersburg) - unfunded
- Richmond area (Petersburg to Staples Mill) - unfunded
- Rural Central VA (Staples Mill to Fredericksburg) - unfunded
- Rural Northern VA (Frederkcksburg to Quantico) - unfunded
- Suburban Northern VA (Quantico to Alexandria) - Partly funded by VA
- Urban Northern VA (Alexandria to Potomac River) - Funded by VA
- Long Bridge / DC (Potomac River to Union Station) - Funded by VA
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That’s a long list my friend, with a lot of funding yet to fine.
That 8 & 9 are funded, and hopefully are on the way is a good thing though. My understanding is that both these projects, particularly Long Bridge work, will really improve efficiency in and out of Washington Union. I recall crawling through Alexandria, across the river and finally into the tunnel. Speeding up this section will be a positive for everyone going and coming from DC from the South.
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This video just popped up in my feed going into detail on North Carolina’s investments in passenger rail through the Piedmont and Carolinian. It’s really well done, and I definitely recommend giving it a watch.
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Just came here to post this! LOL
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NC by Train doing another special event train, but for the Rockingham NASCAR event on April 19th:
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Nice overview of how Colorado built a popular intrastate bus network, Bustang:
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I took the Bustang from Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park and back. Great experience.
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Massachusetts and Illinois receiving Corridor ID funds from USDOT bodes well for North Carolina.
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These appear to all be grants awarded by the Biden administration. This must mean that Trump’s admin has reviewed them, presumably scrubbed any equity and climate-related goals from their scope, and allowed them to proceed.
It will be very interesting to see how Trump’s DOT reacts to North Carolina and Virginia’s high speed rail plans. They did not respond favorably to California’s and Texas’s plans.
One way to read the NCDOT statements from a week or so ago (Article here) is that Trump’s DOT has signalled to NCDOT that their project will be allowed to proceed, but there is still equity- and climate-scrubbing work to be done on the paperwork.
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Guess it’ll have to change from electric to good ol’fashioned coal powered steam locomotives.
Making Trains Great Again.
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NCDOT is preparing for Piedmont service expansion in the future by asking for public feedback on service priorities and usage to help plan a fifth daily round trip.
NC By Train operates four round-trips along the Piedmont corridor. In addition to these trains, Amtrak also operates the Carolinian, which runs from Charlotte to Raleigh to New York City, within the Piedmont Corridor. NCDOT and its railroad partners are exploring future service expansion, but additional funding is needed for implementation. In the meantime, your feedback will help us create the best possible schedule when NC By Train can expand service along the Piedmont corridor.
The improvements and expansion are driven by increased demand for the state’s passenger rail service. NC By Train achieved a record ridership in 2024 for the third year in a row. The state’s intercity passenger rail service carried over 720,000 passengers in 2024, which is a 12% increase from 2023 and a 55% increase since 2019, prior to COVID.
We need your help! Please share your experiences and feedback to help us create the best possible schedule when NC By Train can expand service along the Piedmont corridor.
More information on NCDOT’s website here, and the actual survey is here on PublicInput.com.
Additionally, they are hosting four drop-in public meetings to gather feedback and share information. Slightly surprised there aren’t any meetings in Raleigh or Charlotte, but guess they are instead hosting in the four cities that are skipped by one train per day in each direction.
May 27, 2025
5 – 7 p.m.
City Gate Dream Community Center
1423 N. Church St, BurlingtonJune 2, 2025
5 – 7 p.m.
Rowan Museum
202 N. Main St, SalisburyJune 4, 2025
5 – 7 p.m.
High Point Public Library
901 N. Main St, High PointJune 10, 2025
5 – 7 p.m.
Trinity United Methodist Church
416 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, Kannapolis
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I’ve been fantasizing about a Piedmont that serves Raleigh and has a direct transfer to the Crescent lately and thought that this would be a good way to route a short turn to Winston-Salem, since the rest would be duplicative of a normal Piedmont.
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What happens with Winston-Salem remains to be seen. The existing Greensboro-WS and WS-Lexington tracks are curvy, so without a massive expenditure of money you’ll never see much 79 mph running on those lines. The junction of the two lines in WS and the junction of the WS-Lexington line with the Charlotte-Greensboro line in Lexington would require new construction, and as a minor consideration the forthcoming downtown Lexington station cannot be reached from WS without a time-consuming backup move.
Anything is doable with enough money, but a pragmatist would call for shuttle service between WS and Greensboro as a first step with track improvements to meet or possibly improve the 45-minute running time from the glory years of passenger trains. People traveling between WS and Charlotte wouldn’t see this as particularly attractive, but people traveling between WS and the Triangle would.
And, of course, the WS station would have to be restored for passenger use.
If the additional Piedmont provides an evening departure from Raleigh, it would be possible to connect to the southbound Crescent at Greensboro with a three or four-hour layover. That’s as good as you can expect. The timing of the southbound Crescent end-to-end is unlikely to change much. Going north, there is already a decent connection at Charlotte from the Crescent to the Carolinian.
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i.e., a 10-11PM westbound from Raleigh to GRO? I’m not sure how many people are staying out that late in Raleigh, but I guess that would better allow someone to do an overnight trip to Atlanta (or New Orleans):
- Raleigh 11PM > Greensboro 12:32AM > Atlanta 8:43AM
- Atlanta 11:29PM > Greensboro 7:29AM > Raleigh 10AM
As @ctillnc mentions, eastbound Carolinian #80 already permits a connection from the northbound Crescent #20. The Crescent’s schedule added substantial padding in 2021.
I’ve actually done DC-Greensboro on Crescent + overnight in Greensboro + Carolinian the following morning as a way to “overnight” across Virginia, but that was only because I missed the SB Silver Star that day. I don’t think there’s a good night-train option between NC and the NEC; the distance is better suited to HSR.
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That’s why I said a connection of several hours. I suspect a new southbound Piedmont would leave Raleigh around 8:00-8:30 pm. I don’t believe they will operate any Piedmont that arrives at its destination at midnight or later.
Well, if we are playing “if I were the railroad scheduler” I’d like to see a 5:00 am Piedmont departure from Charlotte. There’s your rush hour trip into Raleigh. 5:30 PM return run from Raleigh with the Carolinians departure pushed back to 6:30 PM. Ensures an online evening rush departure.
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I’ve been doing a lot of Raleigh → Atlanta (twice in less than 6 months) and that transfer in Greensboro is brutal. Luckily there’s things to do around the Greensboro Station (like going bowling and having dinner) but still.
The idea is that by roping in Winston, there’s a group dependent on it. Which would make it compelling to a wider group.
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Not sure where else to put this as it isn’t a rail connection, but Rocky Mount just received a $3m grant from NCDOT to start intercity bus service to Raleigh.
The $3 million NCDOT grant provides critical startup funding for vehicles, operations, and marketing. The City of Rocky Mount and its regional partners are now working with transit consultants and stakeholders to finalize details.
The service will launch with a dedicated route between Rocky Mount and Raleigh, offering weekday service during peak commuting hours. Over time, leaders envision a broader Eastern North Carolina commuter network—linking communities such as Wilson, Greenville, Roanoke Rapids, Elizabeth City, and others—to Rocky Mount and ultimately to the Triangle.
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Interesting! While PART has long operated commuter buses between the Triad and Triangle (connecting in Chapel Hill and/or Durham) this is the first long-distance, commuter-focused bus service I’m aware of in ENC.
There are already two intercity networks in Eastern NC, I wonder if there’s some room for rationalization among all these networks and services, given that they’re all subsidized anyway:
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