Rail Line to Fuquay-Varina

Sorry forgot to link https://durhamnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/24411/City-of-Durham-Acquires-Belt-Line-Rail-Corridor

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Agreed. The Durham Beltline is IMO the perfect example of a railroad that serves no value whatsoever as a railroad anymore, and the benefit that could be obtained by trying to use it as a light rail line is far exceeded by its value as a rail-trail, so build away! It will be awesome for Durham.

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The Durham Beltline is going to be awesome. I can’t wait to see it once it’s finished. Here’s another really good link: https://durhambeltline.com/

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No one seems to know with certainly when NS made the last movement over the belt… some say 1980s, others say 1990s. In either case, it’s unusual for a line in a city the size of Durham to lie completely unused but still intact for so long. I hope Durham makes the best of it.

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I too went to NC State and lived on campus. I actually liked that the campus had the tunnels from side to side. I found it charming. It also meant that, when I was able to go home to my dorm, I felt like like I was both on campus and off campus at the same time.

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54 posts were merged into an existing topic: Light Rail: What works for Raleigh

I found these blueprints for a proposed rail bypass from 1914 that was never built…

I did a rough mock-up on Google Maps, the line would have ran parallel to the rocky branch of walnut creek. The alignment for Western follows part of the proposed bypass.

An overlay on a 1953 map

An overlay on an overlay

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This is unrelated to the rail line to Fuquay, but on the topic of the bypass, it seems that they wanted the eastern end to tie in near the newly constructed abattoir.
Railroad%20loop%20proposal%20eastern%20tie%20in

Built around the same time as City Market, the abattoir was a step towards modernity for Raleigh.

1953 Aerial

1930’s looking east

1940’s looking west

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Wow, this is unreal, I had no idea this was ever actually considered.

Any indication what the purpose of this rail line would have been? 1914 is not long after the N&W line was built. Given the multiple sharp curves this was clearly not indended for high speeds or heavy traffic so it doesn’t seem like it could have been a bypass. Probably a freight spur for the N&W or Seaboard to serve a customer that was located on or near the southern line, perhaps the abattoir you mention, or whatever might have been the predecessor of the Cargill mill.

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The blueprint labels it as a ‘beltline’. The mainline is single track, so I’m guessing this would have helped move trains in and out of the city more efficiently. This could have also been to alleviate some traffic passing thru the wye.

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This is a really, really awesome post. Thanks for sharing!

I just came across a document saying that CAMPO (the regional transportation planning organization with jurisdiction for Raleigh) released a request for proposals to study a rail connection between Raleigh and Fayetteville. This is the first of many steps to even create a plan for a commuter train route to Fayetteville -not even putting any money or shovels into it, yet.

But!! The proposed rights-of-way is interesting:

…notice how the Fuquay/Lillington option includes a certain path we like to look down on?

Full document at: http://files.www.campo-nc.us/get-involved/rfprfqs/Final_Fayetteville-Raleigh_Rail_Study_RFP__2019-05-06_compiled.pdf

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Now if only I ever wanted to go to Fayetteville… :wink: Give me Asheville please!

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I would think that the route up and right to Smithfield in Johnston county and then to Clayton going to Raleigh would be very well used indeed. I happen to have family members that utilize the park and ride lot at Walmart and commute to DTR every day. As well as those whom live in Goldsboro…

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I could argue the same for Fuquay, Lillington, and even Fayetteville (esp. Ft. Bragg), from the people I work with or my classmates at UNC and State… I really hope this study is done properly, so that what we’re seeing is properly accounted for.

(@GucciLittlePig I’m down for a train to Asheville too, and they seem to be working on that too. But I think this and that are two different things?)

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https://www.ncdot.gov/divisions/rail/Pages/future-service.aspx

To extend passenger rail service to Asheville and western North Carolina, the N.C. Department of Transportation, in March 2001, adopted a phased plan that includes renovating or building train stations that incorporate other community uses. NCDOT works with communities on station and rail safety improvements while identifying funding to restore passenger rail service to the western part of the state.In the interim, NCDOT has requested that Amtrak update a study that analyzes the feasibility of operating an Amtrak Thruway Bus service between Salisbury and Asheville. The service would gauge public interest in a mass transit option between Salisbury and Asheville and function as an intermediate step before seeking a more capital-intensive, long-term rail option.

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I like the idea of connecting Raleigh to Wilmington, The Port, and of course, Wrightsville Beach :grin:.

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Thanks for flagging this! This study will certainly be interesting, and I’ll be very curious to see what the study concludes. One thing in the RFP did catch my eye:

“The project’s overall objective is to conduct a study that identifies and examines the critical issues and needs necessary to determine whether passenger rail (commuter or intercity service) is feasible between Fayetteville and Raleigh, North Carolina on either of the existing two rail line corridors between the cities. If passenger rail between the two cities is determined to be feasible, decide which existing rail corridor would be best to establish passenger rail based on travel demand, transportation infrastructure, and market analysis.”

Obviously the NS route is the most direct link between the cities, and frankly, supporting intercity rail from Raleigh to Fayetteville is almost certainly the single best argument that’s out there for continuing to use this as a rail corridor. (I would be very surprised if commuter rail on this line proves to be realistic.) So if the study finds that passenger rail service isn’t feasible, or if the Selma corridor proves to be the better route, that could potentially make it easier to start thinking about other possible uses. So, yeah, this is big stuff.

Also kind of interesting: “The Selma route is 14 miles longer than the route via Fuquay-Varina, although the trip time is shorter via Selma, given current speed restrictions.”

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The direct Raleigh-Fayetteville line via Fuquay-Varina is somewhat meandering and has some slow street running in Fayetteville. 25-35 mph has been the prevalent speed limit on this line for decades. It would be possible to raise the speed limit to 60 mph along most of it, but the cost would be in the $100 million range.

In contrast, the alternative line is almost arrow-straight between Selma and Fayetteville, and Raleigh-Selma-Fayetteville is already good for 79 mph along most of the route.

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What if you could recoup the cost by making GoTriangle (or whatever other entity operates this train line) the owners of stores, apartments etc. near the station?

It’s a strategy that’s worked abroad (see an old post of mine):

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