(The Asheville Citizen-Times published the following editorial on its website on September 9.)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Western North Carolina county commissioners and town government officials have an opportunity to help bring rail service to the mountains, and they ought to do all in their power to make it happen.
A group of residents, business leaders and lawmakers met recently to discuss plans to create a statewide railroad network, and though similar discussions have been held in the past, there’s a difference this time. Instead of individual regions urging their specific cases for rail service, the group of state leaders will advocate as a whole, pushing for rail service to connect the eastern and western parts of the state.
If you think about it, that just makes sense. The object of being able to take a train is to get where you want to go. You need to be able to get on the train where you are, but the fewer places you can get to from there, the less useful it is. Thankfully, someone seems to have figured that out.
“We spend a lot of time talking about building one North Carolina,” said Rep. Ray Rapp, D-Mars Hill, one of the lawmakers involved in the effort. “One way of uniting the state is through passenger rail service.”
Asheville is the most requested stop not served by Amtrak, according to Judy Calvert Ray, president of the Western North Carolina Rail Corridor Committee, a nonprofit volunteer organization.
If viable rail service existed, no doubt there would be a growing market in Western North Carolina, especially for those traveling east to the Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham area, given the traffic bottlenecks on Interstate 40 through the Winston-Salem/Greensboro corridor.
The route of the statewide rail network hasn’t yet been determined, but plans are already under way to connect Asheville to Salisbury with stops along the way in Old Fort, Marion and Morganton.
The group that met recently to discuss plans for a rail network agreed that Rapp would draft a resolution to go to local mayors and county officials asking for their support, according to Rapp. Ray encouraged cities and counties along the proposed routes to pass the resolutions and send them to state lawmakers. Other towns and cities around the state should join in supporting the effort, as well. The rail network can and should continue to be expanded. For example, a train from Asheville to Greenville, S.C., passing through Fletcher and Hendersonville would offer some relief for Interstate 26 and help alleviate the region’s air pollution problems.
In addition to providing a much-needed mass transit alternative to driving, refurbishing the historic depots still standing around the state promises economic revitalization if the experience in Salisbury is an indicator. Since restoration of the 1908 Spanish mission- style station there was completed in 1991, it has generated $21 million in economic redevelopment and the reuse of 12 formerly abandoned buildings. Other civic groups across the state are looking for similar results.
A statewide rail service could help to revitalize 41 counties in the east, according to Phillip Horne, representing a foundation seeking renewal in eastern North Carolina.
Trains offer the promise of a mass transit infrastructure that supports business and helps protect our environment. City and county leaders, lawmakers and business and environmental leaders who join those already working to create a viable statewide rail network will be making a wise investment in North Carolina’s future.