RALEIGH – Ridership on North Carolina’s intercity passenger rail service is 20% higher in 2024 than last year through the end of June.
NC By Train, the state’s intercity passenger rail service operated by Amtrak, continues to break ridership records month over month. For the first six months of 2024 over 342,000 customers have ridden NC By Train, which is 20% higher than during the same period in 2023. Each month in 2024 has been record-breaking for that particular month.
“Demand for North Carolina’s train routes continues to boom as people look for fast, affordable ways to travel our beautiful state,” said Governor Cooper. “Every month this year has set records and made clear that by continuing to invest in passenger rail we can unlock new markets and strengthen communities across our state.”
Ridership success has been bolstered by the addition of a fifth round-trip train frequency between Raleigh and Charlotte in July 2023 as well as recent special event trains providing service to new locations. In partnership with Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway, and the U.S. Golf Association, and CSX, NC By Train ran a special train called the Open Express from Raleigh to the 2024 U.S. Open in Pinehurst. The trains ran for four days between July 13-16 and transported over 2,500 fans to the event. Tickets sold out in a matter of days, demonstrating the need and desire for additional and new passenger rail service to destinations not currently served in North Carolina.
In addition to successful ridership, the N.C. Department of Transportation and Governor Cooper hosted U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for a groundbreaking event for the first S-Line construction project on July 1. The Durant Road grade separation is the first in a series of construction projects associated with the Raleigh to Wake Forest portion of the larger S-Line Raleigh to Richmond Innovating Rail Program. It is funded in part by an almost $1.1 billion Federal-State Partnership (FSP) grant awarded to NCDOT in December 2023.
“When we hosted Secretary Buttigieg in late 2023 to announce the award of $1.09 billion to NCDOT for this project, we promised we were ready to start the work,” said North Carolina Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins. “And here we are today, less than a year later, breaking ground on the first project as part of the S-Line. It’s very exciting to get this work started.”
The Durant Road project in North Raleigh will move a portion of the current road and allow for the building of a new roadway overpass for uninterrupted crossing of vehicular and train traffic. The elimination of the at-grade railroad crossing will improve safety and reduce train horn noise. Traffic along Durant Road will continue to flow during construction, which is anticipated to take two years and cost about $19 million to complete.
