If NS is abandoning their Glenwood Yard, could the line from Jones Street all the way to Wake Forest Road be used for this?
I think that’s part of the HSR corridor
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The original Norfolk Southern Railway went from Norfolk to Charlotte by way of Elizabeth City, Wilson, Zebulon, Wendell, Knightdale, Raleigh, Fuquay, Bonsal and points west. As it was acquired by the Southern Railway, it was eventually merged into the new Norfolk Southern Railroad network after their merger with Norfolk & Western. Now, it’s split into two operating segments - Carolina Coastal Railway east of Raleigh and Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway from Aberdeen to Star.
The CSX ‘S’ you are referring to is part of the old Seaboard Air Line from Richmond to Miami via Henderson, Wake Forest, Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Hamlet and points south. The ‘S’ line was abandoned with tracks ripped up between Norlina and Petersburg back in 1987.
The State of Virginia has purchased their segment of the ‘S’ line, and there’s been talk of the NCDOT purchasing our part of the ‘S’ line from the Virginia border to Raleigh. There are still some movements that CSX still does to Wake Forest, so there won’t be an abandonment of Capital Yard by CSX or the NCDOT.
But, there could be different uses for SEHSR in Glenwood Yard. The NCDOT doesn’t have any kind of budget right now for anything that ambitious, as the Feds are still holding up money owed for transportation repair expenses incurred after the last three hurricanes.
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Yes, that is the NS segment from downtown Raleigh to Edgeton Junction. The major conflict is at the grade crossing at Fairview. If the Capital Boulevard Corridor plan is executed, then Fairview is closed at an extension of West Street which heads from Devereux Meadow to Wake Forest Road. So, no more grade crossing, but also no interchange at Capital Boulvard as that ramp in the median is taken out.
As much as I would love to see this segment turned in to a high-line type of park, I’m wondering how the concrete yard on West would feel about not having access to trains.
I don’t have a robust understanding of the existing rail network but would love to see some rails-to-trails projects get going. If we want more people biking and walking we have to build for it.
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Let’s not be too hasty to make a rail trail in a way that kills high speed rail. Rail travel to the Northeast is an absolutely critical thing for the future of our region and for the planet. Rail trails, even if supposedly “temporary,” have a way of becoming permanent. The Tobacco Trail from downtown Durham to Southpoint would have made a pretty good extension for the DOLRT but can you imagine the outcry if that were actually proposed?
CSX isn’t ready to shut down their Raleigh yard, it’s true, but at the same time it is way oversized for their needs. If rail lines were consolidated onto one side of Capital (whichever side) there would be plenty of space for NCDOT’s and CSX operations with room left over.
Downtown rail consolidations like this are fairly common. Charlotte’s happened in the 60s; Columbia SC did one in the 90s. Atlanta had one too at some point, the 70s perhaps.
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I agree totally. The potential for future mass transit far outweighs the need for a pedestrian trail.
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With Glenwood Yard closed down I would imagine building a curve at edgeton into Glenwood yard would become the preferred alignment for the HSR. I wonder if the proposed Wake Forest line of the commuter rail would also follow this route. If so, a station at Peace Street next to Smoky Hollow also serving Glenwood South would be huge.
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…Especially given that Pigeon House Branch has a planned greenway less than 100 yards from this rail line for much of its length.
Watch out. There will be wolves in sheeps’ clothing here. NIMBYs who back up to this rail line, and are hoping for the boost in property value that shutting down the railroad and putting in a trail will bring, but greenwash their motivations in terms of environmentalism and nature and neighborhoods and community.
They will talk about how urgent this is. How we need to act fast because of global warming, social justice, etc, and who cares about that commuter and high speed rail anyway, it’s just a pipe dream. Or worse yet, they won’t mention rail or will claim they’re not opposed to it, but just let’s build something nice for ourselves now! And only when it seems like the train is actually going to get built, will they show their true colors, and their disingenuous message will be “we’re still not opposed to rail but DON’T TOUCH OUR TRAIL!” And “neighborhood advocate” councilors will fall for it hook, line, and sinker, and high speed rail will be sunk forever.
It is absolutely critical that we do not let this happen.
I think that there IS an opportunity for rail consolidation to happen, and when that happens, some parts of the rail corridors north of downtown can be abandoned, and then there will be plenty of room for a rail trail to happen.
I am, however, absolutely opposed to any movement towards a rail trail until we have a plan in place that considers the future of rail first.
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sorry. wuz just an idea. whatevs.
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OK. I stand corrected. Went back to the 2012 Capital Boulevard Corridor Study (https://www.raleighnc.gov/business/content/PlanDev/Articles/UrbanDesign/CapitalBlvdCorridorStudy.html) and the termination of Fairview at the extension of West Street was assuming the Section V - NC5 SEHSR alignment. So, there would still be a conflict at Fairview in having SEHSR using Glenwood Yard. But, grade separating Fairview at that crossing would still be a far bit cheaper than the flyover structure of SEHSR’s Section V - NC5.
It also begs the question as to SEHSR’s final approach to RUS - single track or double track. And would there be a single bridge or two bridges over Peace Street as well as running alongside West Street by Devereux Meadow.
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As much as I love rails-to-trails, I’ve got to agree with @orulz on this one. I’m thrilled to hear that the Glenwood Yard is closing down and there’s going to be some development in this area. I’d love to see the CSX yard closed down next and see HSR and commuter rail from Wake Forest along the route orulz drew up on the map here. HSR and the commuter rail are both crucially important projects, both for developing good transportation infrastructure in this area, and for reducing carbon emissions.
But there could be some good news here, @RaleighBikeLady. Correct me if I’m wrong orulz, but the NS line running from Fuquay-Varina to Union Station (right through the heart of Dix Park) crosses over this track, and continuing to run freight along this line would slow down both SEHSR and the commuter rail (because the passenger trains would be stuck waiting for the freight trains to roll by). So it seems like we could run HSR and commuter rail along orulz’s corridor, develop the land where the rail yards are now into highly walkable residential communities, and turn the line to Fuquay into a greenway, and thereby create lots of good stuff for all kinds of modalities. (Yes, I realize you’ve got to figure out a way to bring the railroads on board with this plan.)
You could run the intercity rail to and from Fayetteville on the Selma route and just double-track it the whole way, which, I mean, we really ought to do anyway. And, then, man, you close down the prison, reconstruct the Mountford Avenue Bridge, and build a bunch of housing that would be along a greenway and the Western Blvd. BRT line and close to Union Station (with HSR), and now we’re really cooking here.
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Ha - yes! Also - big advocate of rail as a transportation option over here. 
That said, I think that these things definitely don’t need to be mutually exclusive - there are plenty of communities that have both rails AND trails.
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Just because the yard is closed, doesn’t mean the line is closed.
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Yes, that is definitely true, but closing down the yards would certainly make it easier to consolidate everything onto one line and abandon the now-unneeded parts of the two lines, consistent with what orulz proposed.
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Taking this back to Union Station and the new Bus Transit Center & Development… have they announced who the selected developer was?
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@CanesFan Correct. There is still at least one movement a day between Raleigh and Fuquay-Varina. One day southbound dwelling overnight in F-V and then returning northbound the next day to dwell in Raleigh. So, there shouldn’t be much in the way of conflict from that section. (If push came to shove, movements to Fuquay-Varina could come up from Brickhaven.) Anything requiring interchange would then be shuttled back and forth to Selma, East Durham, or Linville Yard. So, the yard is still in NS’ hands, but not doing the amount of yard switching that it was originally designed for.
@daviddonovan Sorry, no greenway to Fuquay-Varina. And, the Prison Siding just got expanded through Boylan Junction to give Norfolk Southern more ability to move increased east-west traffic on the ‘H’ Line. No room for bike lanes there, either.
However, if the state lands a new automobile manufacturing facility adjacent to their property, then things could get reactivated with little notice since the ‘NS’ line is still completely in Norfolks Southern’s hands.
As for SEHSR, the present phase in the current plan is from Raleigh to Richmond, involving only the CSX ‘S’ line. And, it’s really higher-speed, but not high-speed while still running in a sealed corridor. And, there is the expectation of mixed passenger and freight traffic on the line.
Raleigh to Charlotte involves a different jurisdiction altogether - that of the North Carolina Railroad, a wholly owned corporation of the State of North Carolina with Norfolk Southern holding the operating license along with Amtrak being a tenant.
Higher speed on the NCRR is being effected through an incremental series of improvements along the line as money becomes available. Complete sealing of that corridor is going to take some time given the number of grade crossings.
With Virgin Rail USA showing interest in operating higher-speed service from Charlotte to Atlanta, that process may be sped up a bit.
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Not selected yet. The attorneys at the CAC meeting wouldn’t talk about who was currently bidding. I asked. 
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