NC: Federal grant to add and speed trains between Raleigh and Charlotte

The N.C. Railroad Company has received a big federal grant to help increase capacity of the rail line between Raleigh and Charlotte, making room for more passenger service and reducing delays for both freight and passenger trains.

The $105.6 million grant will be matched by $34 million from the state, $17.8 million from the railroad and $13 million from Norfolk Southern, which leases the tracks. The $170 million will pay for upgrades in seven places: Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Hillsborough, Burlington and Greensboro.

“This is an extraordinary moment for North Carolina’s rail network,” Carl Warren, president and CEO of the N.C. Railroad, said in a written statement. “Improved freight and passenger rail services will accommodate one of the fastest-growing regions in the country and will enable a new era of rail capacity in North Carolina.”

The N.C. Railroad, a private company owned by the state, owns 317 miles of tracks from Morehead City through the Triangle and Triad to Charlotte. The corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte is the busiest in North Carolina and has become busier with the addition of a fourth daily round-trip of Amtrak’s Piedmont last year.

Amtrak now makes five daily round-trips between Raleigh and Charlotte each day, including the Carolinian, a state-subsidized Amtrak train that runs between Charlotte and New York City. More than 342,000 people rode the Piedmont and Carolinian during the first half of this year, 20% more than the same period last year.

Additional passenger service goal of upgrades

The N.C. Railroad will use the federal money to make curves less sharp so trains don’t have to slow down as much and to replace tracks to improve speed and reduce maintenance disruptions.

It will also build a double-track extension between Morrisville and Cary and new sidings in Hillsborough and between Burlington and Elon, so trains can pass each other in more places and stay on schedule.

The list of projects was the result of “a very strongly coordinated effort” between Norfolk Southern, NCDOT and the N.C. Railroad, said Jason Orthner, head of NCDOT’s rail division. One goal is to support a fifth daily round-trip of the Piedmont between Raleigh and Charlotte at some point in the future, Orthner said.

“That’s a major component of this project, to provide the capacity and reliability to add that additional train,” he said in an interview.

The changes should also help Amtrak operate the Piedmont and Carolinian on time. Last year, only 68% of Piedmont passengers and 61% of Carolinian passengers reached their destinations on schedule, according to Amtrak.

The $34 million from NCDOT will pay for a bridge to carry East Cornwallis Road over the railroad tracks near the intersection with South Miami Boulevard in Durham. Eliminating the at-grade crossing will improve safety and also keep traffic moving at a busy intersection near Research Triangle Park.

Gov. Roy Cooper, the state’s congressional delegation and U.S. Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis all supported the federal grant application. Cooper’s office first announced the award late last week.

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