RALEIGH, N.C. — The recent deal between Virginia and CSX that will allow expanded passenger and commuter rail service south of Washington D.C. also reaches into North Carolina.
The Raleigh News and Observer reports that the North Carolina Department of Transportation will eventually acquire about 10 miles of CSX right-of-way from the Virginia state line to Ridgeway. A defunct section of the railroad’s S-Line, the route is part of projected high speed rail service to Washington; its sale will boost efforts to buy the rest of the route from Ridgeway to Raleigh, an NCDOT official told the newspaper.
The portion to be sold to North Carolina had its tracks removed in the 1980s. The remainder of the route to Raleigh is “under-utilized,” Jason Orthner, NCDOT’s rail director, said, since CSX moves most traffic on it’s a-Line via Rocky Mount.
How much the 10-mile segment of right of way will cost and how it will be paid for has yet to be worked out.
Virginia and CSX announced a $3.7 billion plan on Dec. 19 that will see the state acquire 350 miles of right-of-way from the railroad and build a new Potomac River bridge for passenger service [see “Virginia, CSX announce major rail infrastructure plan,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 20, 2019].
This will be years in the doing given all of the documented encroachments on the right of way….plus the NIMBY lawsuits.
KRESGE FOUNDATION gives $120 million per year.
From what I see and hear locally,NS is trying hard to do so. CSX hasn’t figured it out yet. Read Tony Hatch’s interview in Feb. Trains, and Stephens’ recap of it.
Bert correct on that one, in this day and age of more population & those populations desiring a more local and direct democracy approach, think California, things will take longer. However, Virginia and NC I believe understand the fact that you can’t keep adding lanes to I-95 forever. At some point the land acquisition, the traffic and congestion all add up to the point where long term commitments and invest in these rail corridors will pay off. Even for those still driving.
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Now if NS and CSX can find meaningful ways to compete against the truckers again.