Rail Lines Newsletter

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North Carolina Railroad Company!

For more than 150 years, the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) has been helping drive commerce, opportunity and growth in North Carolina. Connecting the Carolina coast to the sand hills, Triangle and the Piedmont Crescent, NCRR has been moving people and goods and connecting our state. The Voices of Our Rails tracks the progress of NCRR, from steam locomotives to the future of passenger rail, freight and commuter rail – as well as NCRR’s capital investment in improving this valuable asset for
North Carolina. For more visit www.ncrr.com.

Thank you to everyone who attended this year's NCRR Rail Forum. We appreciate the involvement and interest in the rail industry. And a special thank you to all of our excellent speakers! Presentations from the 2011 Progress in Motion Rail Forum are available at http://www.ncrr.com/rail-forum-presentations/index.html

In the News...

Cary Amtrak Station Reopens
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), through funds from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), recently upgraded the previously unstaffed Cary station. The station was closed for renovations this summer. It re-opened on September 1, 2011 with a new enclosed waiting area for local and regional bus patrons, a full-service on-duty Amtrak agent, automated ticket kiosk, checked baggage service and free short- and long-term parking. New outside benches and platform shelters were also been added. The station was originally built in 1996 and is on both the NCRR line and the CSX line to Southern Pines. The renovation work employed 53 different firms and came in $100,000 under the original budget. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was October 3, 2011

Article: Cary Citizen, "Cary depot opens early, under budget" 4 October 2011.

NS to begin intermodal service from VA port to Greensboro
In mid-October, Norfolk Southern Corporation will start a new double-stack rail service connecting the port of Hampton Roads with central North Carolina. The six-day-a-week service to Greensboro will focus on the textile, furniture, retail, chemical and agriculture industries. Greensboro is considered a load center for imports and exports of those cargoes in central North Carolina.

Article: The Virginian-Pilot , "Norfolk Southern to begin intermodal service from port to Greensboro, NC" 3 October 2011.

North Carolina and Virginia get $48 million to help develop higher speed rail to DC
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced that Virginia and North Carolina will get $48 million in federal grant money to develop a high-speed rail link between Raleigh and Washington, D.C. About $4 million of the grant will go to North Carolina for analysis and preliminary engineering on a new connection between Raleigh and Richmond. The aim is to reduce travel time between the cities to around two hours, shaving about 90 minutes off the current schedule. Virginia will get over $44 million towards the construction of a high-speed rail corridor between Richmond and Washington.

Article: The Virginian Pilot, "Feds grant $48M for rail ink in VA and NC " 27 September 2011.

Arsenal scrap yard becomes intermodal rail yard in Illinois
A good example of making the most of rail site opportunities can be found in Will County, Illinois. CenterPoint Properties saw an opportunity when an old U.S. arsenal site became available. When they learned all U.S. arsenals had to be served by two class I railroads they decided to develop an intermodal facility there. In 2002, they opened the BNSF intermodal facility in Elwood, IL and in 2010 the Union Pacific intermodal operation opened on the south side of Joliet, IL. The two intermodal yards have combined to become "the largest inland port in North America".

Article: The Herald News, "From scrap yard to rail yard: How Will County became an intermodal giant" 24 September 2011.

Controversial commuter rail system comes to central Florida
On July 15, officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation, state of Florida, Orlando and area communities, and local businesses gathered to participate in a Full Funding Grant Agreement signing ceremony for central Florida’s SunRail, a 61-mile commuter-rail line, which will connect downtown Orlando with Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Osceola counties and will provide commuters and tourists with an alternative to the jam-packed Interstate 4. The state soon will purchase the SunRail tracks from CSX Transportation, and the railroad plans to use the proceeds to upgrade freight-rail infrastructure throughout the state.

Article: Progressive Railroading, "Here comes the Sun (Rail)" August 2011.

Did you know ...

NCRR and Norfolk Southern improve Trent River Bridge

Norfolk Southern and the North Carolina Railroad Company are working to improve the railroad bridge over the Trent River in New Bern, NC. The bridge was originally constructed in 1980 and its steel pipe piles are corroding from the brackish water. The project will repair the corroded steel piles by encasing them in concrete. Crowder Construction Company is performing the work. It is a 50/50 cost sharing project between Norfolk Southern and NCRR. The project should be complete by the end of the year.

Tell us what you think of Rail Lines. Please let us know what we can improve or what you would like to learn more about. Email raillines@ncrr.com. We appreciate your input!

Published by the North Carolina Railroad Company Volume 5, Issue 5
Comments or questions? Call Catherine Campbell at (919) 954-7601 or
e-mail: raillines@ncrr.com

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