There’s a decent chance a new intercity rail connection will be built from Wilmington to Raleigh.
State, local, and federal officials have been optimistic about expanding rail service since President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law in 2021, opening up billions of dollars in federal funding for new and improved rail systems.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is seeking funding for 12 rail corridors. If all these projects are built, it would connect every major metropolitan area in the state to one passenger rail network: from Asheville to Raleigh to Wilmington.
The winning projects for the $44 billion in federal grants will be announced later this year, and officials are hopeful.
At a Thursday meeting and presentation with federal, state, and local leaders from numerous towns in Southeastern North Carolina, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said, “Wilmington to Raleigh passenger rail route that would connect passenger rail across the state and eastern seaboard is not just distant dream, it can become a reality.”
North Carolina applied for more rail corridors than any other state. Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose attended the meeting by Zoom, and said “North Carolina DOT has been such a great partner with the Federal Railroad Administration for a number of years.”
“We've made large sums of funding available to meet our vision for rail in the United States, and billions more are on the way,” Bose added. “North Carolina is a leader in passenger and freight rail in the country. All of us need to build the internal capacity to turn that vision into a reality not only on the national level, but at the state and local level.”Building on existing rail
The largest rail line in North Carolina runs between Charlotte and Raleigh. NCDOT Director of Rail Division Jason Orthner said passenger intercity rail is limited in North Carolina right now, but has a lot of potential because of existing, underutilized freight lines.
“We have been working for quite some time on the corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte, which is connecting some of our largest urban areas,” Orthner said. “And we also support a daily service between Charlotte and New York.”
The Raleigh to Charlotte connection has seen an uptick in usage over the past several years, with a 30% increase in ridership after additional trips were added.
“Folks are really, really using the service and it gives an idea that a service that can connect here to Wilmington would have the same level of demand and interest as what we're seeing in the rest of the system. And that demand is supported by the more destinations you can get to on the train,” Orthner said.
NCDOT plans to expand its rail service with a high-speed train from Raleigh to Richmond, Virginia. That would tie North Carolina’s system into the greater rail system of the Northeastern US.
“That is a critical new connection that will serve the backbone that we currently have between Raleigh and Charlotte over the NCR that will provide a new link for a high capacity, high reliability, high-frequency, and high-speed service connecting North Carolina really to the rest of the nation's network,” Orthner said.
The Wilmington Connection
Riding the Raleigh to Wilmington connection would take just under three hours, but presenters say with wifi available on the train, it would be more productive compared to the 2 hours and 15 minutes it currently takes to drive to Raleigh.
Wilmington would anchor the eastern line, with a train stopping in Golsboro and Selma on the way to Raleigh. Another line would connect Morehead City through New Bern, connecting with Wilmington’s line in Goldsboro.
Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo lauded the idea, and said it has the backing of mayors all over the Cape Fear Region.
“Asheville wants it, we want it, points in between want it, smaller communities that surround Wilmington in southeastern North Carolina would like to see it,” he said, “to give their citizens and people an opportunity to get on a train and go to destinations all over the country.”
Orthner said a second Wilmington track would need to be built to prevent competition between freight and passenger traffic, and to provide resiliency into the Port City.
“We have a high degree of confidence, we're going to win most of the corridors, if not all the corridors, that we've applied for, because we're incredibly positive,” Orthner said to applause and some laughs.
If he’s right, and NCDOT gets everything on its list, North Carolina will soon have a comprehensive rail network, connecting Asheville through to Wilmington by train, and connecting the entire state to a rail network extending from Atlanta to New York. Large segments of the existing rail network would see major increases in service, and cities like Greenville and Winston-Salem would get rail service for the first time in decades.
Many major cities in North Carolina used to be connected by rail. Wilmington lost service in 1968, Winston-Salem in 1970. In Wilmington, the loss of the rail connection is often lamented as the start of a period of economic decline for the city. I-40’s completion in Wilmington in 1990 finally reconnected Wilmington to the rest of the state, but only by car.
Mayor Saffo said that’s been a sore spot for locals, who want to see rail return. And he says it’ll be a boon for tourists and locals alike.
“We want to give those people that want to visit our community, another mode of transportation to get to Wilmington, besides having to use a car, which of course creates a lot of congestion for us here in the summer months into the spring months," he said.
If Wilmington wins its bid and gets to build rail, it’ll be in three to seven years, Saffo said. The new train station will be just across 3rd Street from Padgett Station, giving commuters a direct connection to local bus services.
“They're going to have to use other modes of transportation to get to other destinations, whether within the city of Wilmington, within the county of New Hanover, or within the region itself,” Saffo said.
What’s next?
Nicole Bucich, Amtrak’s Vice President of Network Development, said NCDOT is a standout partner for developing state partnerships. She said that positions the state to take full advantage of the treasure trove of federal funding.
“This program is a tremendous opportunity, really once in a lifetime, with unprecedented levels of funding to advance these corridors through the project development phase,” Bucich said.
Each selected corridor gets a $500,000 grant of “seed money” for scoping and program initiation.
The next step is service development planning, which will be 90% federally funded. Then there’s a project development phase, with 80% federal funding and 20% coming from a local match.
Bucich said the federal government is expected to announce the grant recipients in November.
“North Carolina has 12 applications, and I agree with Jason, it’s hands down the most number of applications,” Bucich said. “You have to be in it to win it, right?”
When the winners are announced, NCDOT will collaborate with local partners and Amtrak to move forward with route development.
