News Release
Date: March 5, 2001

Plans Unveiled for Western North Carolina Train Service

Raleigh -- After completing a yearlong feasibility study, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has unveiled its proposed five-phase plan to bring passenger rail service back to Western North Carolina. Highlights of the plan include operating a thruway bus service from Salisbury to Asheville, renovating or building train stations that incorporate other uses and beginning passenger train service in 2005.

"Given the time it takes to develop a new passenger train service as well as our current fiscal situation, we're recommending a plan that implements passenger rail service in phases," said State Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett. "This plan will allow us to move forward with our goal of passenger rail service for Western North Carolina in a way that is both cost efficient and responsive to our citizens needs."

Tippett said the plan begins with a thruway bus service that would run between Salisbury and Asheville and connect with the Piedmont and Carolinian trains. Bus service also could continue from Asheville to Knoxville, providing the only link to Amtrak service from eastern Tennessee. Annual operating costs are estimated to range between $264,000 to 268,000.

Meanwhile, the department would begin to acquire property and rehabilitate historic stations in Statesville, Hickory, Morganton, Marion, Black Mountain and Old Fort. Already the NCDOT has been working with community leaders to solicit their input on station design plans and incorporate other community uses such as a visitors center, restaurant, bakery, police substation and museum.

Tippet said the stations would serve as key centers of activity for communities that simultaneously will help fulfill some local needs while serving bus passengers and later train passengers. Sharing space with local businesses also will reduce ongoing operating and maintenance costs for the department, he said.

More than $5.7 million in Transportation Enhancement funds has been dedicated in the department's Transportation Improvement Program to renovate the six historic stations during the next three years. An additional $5.2 million will be needed to buy land and build new stations and boarding platforms in Asheville and Valdese and remodel the existing station in Salisbury to accommodate more passengers.

In the second phase, the department would begin negotiating an operating agreement with Amtrak and Norfolk Southern (NS), which owns the railroad that runs between Salisbury and Asheville. Also, the NCDOT and NS would begin $22.4 million in work on major track and signal improvements to reduce travel time, improve safety and efficiency and increase capacity on the railroad.

The NCDOT already has been working with communities along the route to develop a program of safety improvements to prevent train-vehicle crashes at railroad crossings along the route. State transportation officials say such improvements are needed to protect both motorists and train crews at crossings currently used by freight trains, regardless of implementation of passenger rail service.

The department would build new stations in Asheville and Valdese and construct boarding platforms at all stations during the third phase. Platform construction costs for the six historic stations are an estimated $1.7 million.
During the fourth phase, the NCDOT would purchase one new locomotive and renovate five used rail coaches for use in Western North Carolina service for an estimated $6.9 million. These railcars would operate as a pool of equipment that also is used to provide daily Piedmont service. Additionally, a maintenance facility would be renovated at the Transportation Museum in Spencer for a cost of $425,000 to make moderate repairs and service the train.

The final phase would include recruiting and training crews to operate the trains and beginning passenger train service between Salisbury and Asheville.

"We believe this plan for phased implementation is the best solution for now," said Tippett. "Beginning bus service first will help us build a solid foundation for train service later. We look forward to working with communities and representatives along the route during the next several years to implement these services."

The study evaluated several different scenarios for passenger train service to the mountains. Based on the projected number of passengers, revenues and costs, the best opportunity for successful service is a train that operates between Asheville and Salisbury and provides connections to a long distance train such as the Carolinian or a proposed New York-Atlanta train service. The Salisbury to Asheville train could operate either daily or four days a week to accommodate peak travel. While early estimates predict 8,900 -- 13,400 passengers will use the service yearly, the ridership projections were based on business and personal travel only and do not include potential traffic from tourism. Annual operating cost estimates range between $1.7- $2.5 million.

Also, the study did not address ways to include Winston-Salem in the Western North Carolina rail service as those options are currently under a separate study by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transit (PART). The results of the PART study should be available later this year and will be incorporated as appropriate when service to Western North Carolina is implemented.

The N.C. General Assembly last year directed the department to study the feasibility of providing passenger service to Western North Carolina and to provide a timetable, costs and performance measures for implementing such service.

March 2001 Western North Carolina Passenger Rail Study Summary