State looks to beef up rail service

Nov. 17—HIGH POINT — State officials say beefing up intercity passenger rail service could help bring more people to High Point by train for special events.

N.C. Department of Transportation Rail Division Director Jason Orthner recently briefed a City Council committee on plans to expand existing routes and add new ones throughout the state.

"We know of some significant events in High Point, notably the furniture markets. And we've also been in contact with the (High Point Rockers). There may be other events and opportunities to kind of look at ways we can get people here on the train more effectively," he said. "But the real exciting thing is not just more service in this corridor, but the new corridors we're looking at adding in the state, so the folks that live here in High Point can get to other locations all around North Carolina."

The division is seeking federal funds to develop up to 12 new corridors between cities.

"We have a lot of interest from folks that want to go as far west as Asheville, and as far east as Wilmington, and all kinds of locations in between," said Orthner.

The DOT doesn't own any railroad assets, but contracts with Amtrak to operate its Carolinian train, which runs daily between New York and Charlotte and includes stops in High Point.

"What we like to call this system is the starter kit," he said. "We've been working on it for a long time, but this is not the vision for where we see intercity passenger rail in our state. We've got a much broader vision."

If it were to expand passenger rail, the DOT could look to partner with the North Carolina Railroad, Norfolk Southern and CSX, which own and operate tracks throughout the state, as well as the 24 privately held "short-line" railroads.

Orthner said the other major project the DOT is working on involves developing a new connection between the North Carolina and Virginia rail systems with the "S-Line" Richmond to Raleigh project.

This will provide high-performance passenger rail service to communities along this corridor.

"We've already received quite a bit of funding to date to support that project," said Orthner. "It's cleared all the environmental reviews. We have received funding for the final engineering on the project and we're starting to submit for grants to build out the pieces of that corridor, starting with Raleigh and proceeding north."