So yesterday, Julie White from NCDOT presented to the GoTriangle Planning & Legislative Committee on current projects that the Rail Division is working on. I watched this meeting over WebEx like the nerd I that am and took some notes as well. Apologies that the screenshots are low-res.
- Julie is chair of the Southeast Corridor Commission. This commission consists of members from six states and the District of Columbia. Their primary task is to develop SEHSR. Julie mentioned that one of the keys to the success of the Northeast Corridor is that their commission was able to secure permanent funding. As such, the Southeast Corridor Commission is currently in pursuit of permanent, designated funding on the federal level.
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I’ve seen a lot of confusion about this, and Julie cleared it up yesterday: NCDOT will only be purchasing the Raleigh-to-Ridgeway portion of the S-Line. She explained that CSX took the southern segment off the table as they’re much more active on that end. However, CSX has expressed that they are still willing to negotiate sharing that portion of line with passenger rail, so NCDOT has been in talks with them about what that could look like. Additionally, CSX has expressed that they are willing to sell the currently inactive SA-Line between Norlina and Littleton(?), which NCDOT views as useful for adding service to Halifax County. My hope would be that Amtrak uses it to route the Silver Star from the A-Line to the S-Line while VA works on rebuilding their segment, as I imagine that would reduce the overall trip time from Raleigh to DC, but we’ll see.
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It looks like both a fourth Piedmont round trip and the new Charlotte Gateway Station are both projected to enter into service sometime in 2024. A fifth Piedmont round trip and an express train with direct service between Raleigh and Charlotte are also being studied. Julie also mentioned that the Carolinian’s strong comparative performance during the pandemic has the attention of the feds; it’s had one of highest riderships of the state-supported routes.
- Speaking of 2024, that’s when Julie is hoping we might see a new fleet for the Piedmont, thanks to federal grants we received within the last year or so. The goal with purchasing a brand new fleet is to reduce maintenance costs and downtime while improving passenger experience. Julie mentioned things like wireless charging at every seat. They’re still looking at options, but an RFP is expected in summer. Would love to see some Siemens Chargers rocking the Piedmont livery, but it’s too early to say who will be manufacturing these units.
- 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.
That’s all I’ve got. Feel free to cross post to other applicable threads. It’s shaping up to be a good decade for NC rail.