Above photo: Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, fourth from left, breaks ground on the Raleigh, N.C., to Richmond, Va., intercity passenger rail line alongside North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, third from left, and local leaders on July 1, 2024. U.S. Department of Transportation.
Trains could run at up to 110 mph along portions of the route connecting two of the busiest train stations in the Southeast.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and other officials broke ground last week in Raleigh, North Carolina, on construction of a new passenger rail line along an existing freight rail corridor between Raleigh and Richmond, Virginia.
Richmond and Raleigh are among the five busiest train stations in the Southeast, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority said in a Feb. 28 press release. The S-Line project is among the two states’ ambitious plans to expand intercity passenger rail. Last December, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded grants to the North Carolina DOT from the federal Corridor Identification and Development Program for seven corridors. Three radiate out from Charlotte, three from Raleigh, and one would connect Asheville and Salisbury, North Carolina.
“The roads are just as congested as they were before [the COVID-19 pandemic],” said Mike McLaughlin, chief operating officer at the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, speaking about the growth of rail ridership in the region. Trains are “a much more convenient way to travel,” he said, noting that train travelers can work or watch a movie on their laptops and have access to the café car for food and beverages.
VPRA is also looking at where it could straighten portions of the route to allow higher speeds without impacting local homeowners. “If we can straighten and go faster, we will,” McLaughlin said.
The North Carolina DOT received a nearly $1.1 billion grant for the S-Line project. Amtrak and NC DOT will contribute an additional 20% in matching funds.