(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on August 17, 2010.)
The North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) recently completed the first phase of a track realignment and improvement project in downtown Kinston, N.C.
Funded by the railroad — which owns and manages a 317-mile corridor between Morehead City and Charlotte — the $3.3 million first phase included track, roadway and drainage improvements.
The track realignment project will enable the railroad to increase train speed from 10 mph to 25 mph, reducing traffic delays at grade crossings and improving clearances for today’s larger rail cars, NCRR officials said in a prepared statement.
The next phase of the project, which calls for improving track and public utilities at several crossings, and completing some final grading work, is scheduled for completion in early October.