The Federal Railroad Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation recently celebrated the obligation of $550 million to develop the new S-Line passenger rail route between Raleigh, NC, and Richmond, VA.
[Above photo by NCDOT]
When complete, the Raleigh-to-Richmond S-Line – which will be operated in conjunction with Amtrak – is anticipated to save rail travelers 90 minutes when traveling between the two cities and will increase corridor bandwidth, allowing for more passenger and freight trips each day.
NCDOT noted that the S-Line is a freight rail line, owned by CSX, that connects Richmond, VA, to Tampa, FL. Formerly known as the Seaboard Air Railroad mainline, North Carolina and Virginia purchased part of the S-line between Petersberg, VA, south of Richmond and Raleigh to grow both freight and passenger rail services.
The agency added that it had already received a $1.09 billion federal grant in December 2023 to construct the first segment of the S-Line from Raleigh to Wake Forest along with a $58 million design engineering grant for the entire 162-mile Raleigh-to-Richmond rail corridor.
“This milestone is a testament to the strong partnership between the FRA, Amtrak, and NCDOT in advancing the S-Line and the earlier announced Piedmont Line corridors,” said David Fink, FRA administrator, in a statement. “Through close collaboration, we are delivering vital investments that will modernize passenger rail … for the people of North Carolina.”
“The S-Line will connect North Carolina residents to more transportation options within the state and beyond so they can get to school, work, or anywhere else they need to go,” noted North Carolina Governor Josh Stein (D) in a separate statement.
“This project represents an important step forward in improving rail connections across North Carolina and the Southeast, while supporting freight operations and improving safety,” added Daniel Johnson, NCDOT secretary. “We are thankful for the continued support from the FRA as we continue to build the next generation of passenger rail.”
The S-Line announcement comes on the heels of FRA’s $5.3 billion grant funding package issued via its National Railroad Partnership Program back in August; a funding tranche that included an additional $300 million to close nine at-grade rail crossings, construct five grade separations, and improve trespassing prevention infrastructure as part of NCDOT’s Piedmont Corridor Safety Program between Raleigh and Charlotte.
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