(The following story by Bruce Siceloff appeared on the News & Observer website on March 23, 2009.)
RALEIGH, N.C. — We can build it, but how many will come?
N.C. Railroad says it will commission a commuter train ridership and market study for the 140-mile rail corridor from Greensboro through the Triangle to Goldsboro.
Last year the state-owned railroad concluded that it would be possible to add rush-hour commuter trains to the tracks now shared by Norfolk Southern freight and Amtrak passenger trains. It would cost between $2.3 million and $9.3 million per mile to add passing tracks and upgrade bridges and crossings.
Regional government and business leaders were interested in the prospect of up to four morning and four evening trains for people who commute to the Triangle and other work centers.
“We concluded that a market study is the next logical step in determining if there is a basis to make capital investments in tracks for commuter trains, and where those investments might occur,” Scott Saylor, NCRR president, said last week.
N.C. Railroad will hire a consultant to spend six to nine months figuring out how many people would use the commuter trains and whether there is enough demand to justify the cost.