NCDOT Receives $300 Million Federal Grant For Major Rail Improvements

RALEIGH, N.C. – The N.C. Department of Transportation has been awarded a nearly $300 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to improve safety, reliability and capacity of current and future passenger rail service along the Piedmont Corridor.

“This federal investment demonstrates our partners’ confidence in North Carolina’s ability to deliver major rail projects,” said N.C. Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson. “We thank the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, the North Carolina Railroad Company and Norfolk Southern for supporting this important project to modernize and improve safety and travel times along the route between Raleigh and Charlotte.”

The FRA awarded the grant through its National Railroad Partnership Program, which funds capital projects that improve and expand intercity passenger rail service. The Piedmont Corridor Safety Program will improve the rail corridor used by NC By Train’s Piedmont and Carolinian services between Raleigh and Charlotte.

The Piedmont Corridor Safety Program will:

• Close six at-grade railroad crossings and construct two new highway bridges in Guilford County;
• Close three at-grade railroad crossings and construct two new highway bridges in Durham County;
• Add nearly six miles of second track and make other infrastructure improvements in Guilford, Durham and Wake counties; and
• Establish a new anti-trespassing program to improve safety along the rail corridor.

Removing at-grade crossings separates trains from vehicles and pedestrians, reducing the opportunities for collisions while improving the movement of passenger and freight trains. The additional track and bridge improvements will help reduce delays and increase the corridor’s capacity for future service.

The grant is part of a $5.3 billion nationwide investment announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve rail safety, modernize infrastructure and support passenger rail service across the country.

Additional information about the project schedule and individual improvements will be announced as planning and design progress.

NC By Train has achieved record ridership for four consecutive years, growing from 463,000 passengers in 2019 to nearly 740,000 in 2025, a 59% increase and the highest annual ridership in the service’s 35-year history. The state-supported intercity passenger rail service connects North Carolina’s major cities and destinations with safe, reliable and convenient transportation.