RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) today signed a contract with the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR) and Norfolk Southern Railway Company to make $24 million worth of improvements to the railroad tracks between Cary and Greensboro. Once work is completed, travel time between the two cities will be reduced by at least 20 minutes.
“As highway and air traffic congestion increase, it becomes even more critical that we improve our rail infrastructure to provide viable travel and freight shipping alternatives,” said State Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett. “This contract allows us to move forward with work that will improve safety, reliability and capacity for both freight and passenger trains resulting in a more appealing and competitive passenger rail service and more efficient freight rail shipments.”
Tippett said the master agreement lays the foundation for making additional improvements to the railroad in the future.
Construction schedules and details about possible impacts to train passengers will be determined in the coming months after engineering designs have been finalized. Track work could begin as early as summer 2002 and should take between 18 months to two years to complete. The NCDOT is working closely with Norfolk Southern and the NCRR to minimize impacts and delays for train passengers during construction.
The series of track and signal improvements includes lengthening two passing sidings, improving two rail interchanges, banking some portions of track and installing a new centralized traffic control system. Once work is completed, scheduled travel time for train passengers between Cary and Greensboro will improve from the current one hour and 40 minutes to about 80 minutes.
“Improvements on the track are a crucial step in upgrading the rail transit system in North Carolina,” says Brad Wilson, vice chairman of the NCRR. “By decreasing travel time, passengers will be more likely to consider rail as a good transportation option, especially as the arrival time gets more competitive with vehicle travel. At the same time, freight trains will be able to continue operating effectively, which is important for the economic environment of many industries that depend on freight transport. Improving rail transit and encouraging economic development are key missions of the NCRR.”
As part of the rail improvement project, crews are lengthening two passing sidings — or short segments of track alongside stretches of single-track railroad — to provide a place for trains to pass each other. The current sidings in McLeansville and Mebane will be extended to accommodate freight trains that average 100 – 110 cars, or over one mile in length. The longer sidings will help reduce traffic congestion and delays on the railroad by allowing passenger trains to go around the longer freight trains.
Crews also will reconstruct and modernize a rail interchange near downtown Greensboro to improve rail traffic flow through the busy intersection where five tracks merge together near the historic Southern Railway Station. In addition, a second track will be added from Elm Street to just past the old station to accommodate passenger train service once the station renovation is complete. A second interchange in east Durham also will be improved.
In numerous locations between downtown Greensboro and east Cary, crews will elevate, or bank, some curves to allow trains to travel faster and more smoothly.
Also, a new centralized train traffic control system will be installed between Greensboro and Cary to improve communication between dispatchers and train engineers, which will permit trains to operate at speeds up to 79 mph (current top speed is 59 mph).
“This agreement enhances the status of North Carolina as a leader in passenger rail service,” said David R. Goode, Norfolk Southern chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Norfolk Southern is pleased to be a partner with NCDOT and NCRR by providing the technical and engineering expertise to bring improved rail service to North Carolina and the region’s passenger rail infrastructure.”
In addition, the NCDOT will equip crossing signals at all public rail- highway intersections between Cary and Greensboro with constant warning devices that help ensure consistent activation of crossing lights and gates. For example, signals and gates should activate for the same length of time before a train enters the intersection whether the train is going 20 mph or traveling at 50 mph.
The NCDOT provided the engineering and design plans and is paying for the rail improvements with state and federal funds. Norfolk Southern will perform the construction work on the NCRR corridor.
Norfolk Southern, NCRR and the Department of Transportation also are partnering to improve the track east of Raleigh to increase capacity and improve efficiency along the busy rail line. Construction began in mid November and should be completed by the end of February, shaving seven-10 minutes off the travel time between Raleigh and Selma.
Construction of a second track between Greensboro and High Point also is planned for the near future. The nine-mile section of additional track will increase capacity and reduce delays associated with trains meeting and passing other trains.