North Carolina Continues to Move Forward with Rail

2023 and the first half of 2024 have seen continued growth in North Carolina's passenger rail system.  From increased daily trains from Raleigh to Charlotte, federal funds for studying additional corridors, and receiving a historic grant to begin the construction of high-speed rail between Raleigh and Richmond, the last 18 months have been a flurry of activity at NCDOT's Rail Division.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

As ridership and routes increase - the engine of North Carolina passenger rail trains will become a more common sight. (Adam Prince)

Increased Passenger Train Service:

On July 10, 2023, a fourth Piedmont round-trip rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte commenced.  The four Piedmont trains plus the daily Carolinian (to Washington, DC, and New York) bring the total of trains serving the two cities daily to five.

The current daily Piedmont and Carolinian schedule between Charlotte and Raleigh (NCDOT)

The result was over 641,000 passengers utilized passenger rail service in North Carolina in 2023.  The new record amount was a 23% increase over the former mark, set the year before.  In March 2024, ridership set a new monthly record with 66,000 passengers.

U.S. "Open Express" Special:

For the June 2024 United States Golf Association's Open Championship in Pinehurst, NCDOT, Amtrak, and the Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway partnered to operate a daily round trip to the Sandhills resort.  The 'Express' left Raleigh's Union Station every tournament morning at 7:00 am, a stop in Cary, and then directly to Pinehurst, arriving around 9:10 am.  The return trip left Pinehurst at 6:35 pm, stopping in Cary and returning to Raleigh around 8:45 pm.

Each day of the four-day service sold out.  With trains carrying 300 passengers one way.  The goal of the service was to help reduce vehicle traffic in and around Pinehurst.  Also notable is that the temporary train route used Aberdeen Carolina & Western rails - track that has not seen scheduled passenger service for decades.

$1.09 Billion Grant for S-Line:

Late in 2023, NCDOT was awarded a $1.09 Billion discretionary grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to design and build the first 18 miles of the S-Line High-Speed Rail project from Raleigh to Richmond.  The project will allow NCDOT to design and build the track from Raleigh to Wake Forest, including building track that can handle 110 mph rail speeds, eliminating at-grade crossings, adding tracks allowing freight trains to bypass, and more. 

Current (July 2024) status of S-Line.  Raleigh to Wake Forest is now funded for construction with completion estimated to occur in 2030. (NCDOT)

Groundbreaking on the overall project occurred on July 1, 2024.  When the tracks are completed to Wake Forest around 2030, NCDOT will extend the Piedmont service to Wake Forest.  

Further expansion northwards of the S-Line, part of the Southeast High-Speed Rail project, will be dependent on future funding.

Grants for New Service Lines:

The S-Line project was not the only rail grant the state received in 2023.  Seven $500,000 grants were awarded in December 2023 to study seven different passenger rail corridors.

NC Rail Development Corridors. Raleigh's Union Station would be the hub of all rail service in North Carolina. (NCDOT)

The seven corridors are:

• Charlotte to Atlanta
• Charlotte to Kings Mountain
• Charlotte to Washington, D.C.
• Raleigh to Fayetteville
• Raleigh and Wilmington
• Raleigh and Winston-Salem
• Salisbury to Asheville

All seven are part of the Corridor Identification and Development program.  The grants will allow the state to study and conceptually design new or additional rail services in each corridor.  Five other in-state corridors were not selected - but can be awarded grants at a later date.

New Stations:

Charlotte's Gateway Station tested its first trains in December 2022 - but we're still four to five years away from it being in service.  New stations for Hillsborough, Lexington, and Harrisburg are in various stages of development.

Charlotte's Red Line:

The Charlotte passenger/commuter rail Red-Line, which looked dead in the water earlier this decade, saw new life when Norfolk Southern announced they were willing to negotiate on the use of their O-Line for passenger service.

Proposed routing of Charlotte's Red Line Commuter Rail. (Charlotte Area Transportation System)

In May 2023, Charlotte and Norfolk Southern reached an agreement where the City of Charlotte would acquire the O-line by the fall of 2024.  If the agreement holds, it would be a significant step towards commuter rail service running north of Charlotte and paralleling Interstate 77 to Mount Mourne in Iredell County.

Triangle Commuter Rail Still Stuck:

In August of 2023, the Board of Directors of GoTriangle endorsed commuter rail and then shelved the project, stating that the area was not ready to move forward.  It is one of the many starts, stops, and setbacks the Triangle has seen with any type of rail (light or heavy) transit in the last 25 years.  Hopefully, the Triangle can look at Charlotte's persistence and develop its own diverse network of transportation options in the years to come.