S line receives significant $ funding from the federal government
Earlier this week, leadership from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) were in North Carolina to tour the progress of the first part of the S-line rail construction in North Raleigh. The group visited the Durant Road railroad/roadway grade separation project, which is part of a 150+ mile corridor that will eventually link Raleigh with Richmond, Virginia via a new, high-performance railway connection.
FRA announced that NCDOT would receive $65 million in funding, which will be used to help purchase the corridor, currently owned by CSX Transportation.
FRA Administrator Drew Feeley said that the project will be “a tremendous improvement in safety for the freight railroads and for the drivers and pedestrians”, and said that so far, the construction project has been “a rousing success” from his perspective.
For more than two decades, RTA has supported NCDOT Rail Division efforts to provide cost-effective improvements to passenger rail to and within the metropolitan Piedmont crescent of North Carolina. The investments by the Department have been steady, logical, and eminently supportable, because they provide incremental improvements to both passenger and freight service.
Congrats to NCDOT for their ongoing work to successfully improve rail service and rail/highway crossing safety in our state, and thank you to our colleagues with FRA for their confidence in and support of North Carolina’s efforts.
Let’s get moving,
Joe
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA executive director
RTA is a metropolitan business leadership group serving the Research Triangle area, and a regional program of the Greater Raleigh, N.C., Chamber of Commerce
