Is There Rail Service In North Carolina

Amtrak train betwixt Raleigh and Charlotte, Due north Carolina

Piedmont

A state-endemic EMD F59PH and EMD F59PHI atomic number 82 the Piedmont into Loftier Point on an autumn day in 2012.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Condition	Operating
Locale	Northward Carolina
First service	May 26, 1995
Current operator(due south)	North Carolina Section of Transportation in partnership with Amtrak
Annual ridership	97,189 (FY21) −54.6% [i] [a]
Route
Termini	Raleigh, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina
Stops	xi
Distance travelled	173 miles (278 km)
Average journey time	iii hours, 10-11 minutes[2]
Service frequency	Three round-trips daily
Train number(southward)	73–78
On-board services
Class(es)	Reserved Autobus only
Disabled access	Fully accessible
Catering facilities	Lounge car
Luggage facilities	Checked baggage available at select stations
Technical
Runway guess	1,435 mm (4 ftviii+ ane⁄2  in)
Operating speed	79 miles per hour (127 km/h) maximum; 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) average, including stops
Rail owner(southward)	NCRR
Road map Fable Dist. Station Atlantic Declension Service to New York City 0 mi Raleigh 9 mi xiv km Cary 26 mi 42 km Durham Hillsborough (hereafter) 60 mi 97 km Burlington 84 mi 135 km Greensboro 97 mi 156 km High Betoken Lexington (seasonal) 131 mi 211 km Salisbury 146 mi 235 km Kannapolis 173 mi 278 km Charlotte Charlotte Gateway Station (time to come) Crescent to New Orleans This diagram: view talk edit

The Piedmont or Piedmont Service is a regional passenger train operated by Amtrak and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), running half dozen times a day betwixt Raleigh and Charlotte, Northward Carolina. Information technology is a sis railroad train to the Carolinian, which runs from Charlotte to New York City. The Piedmont road is coextensive with the far southern leg of the Carolinian, largely paralleling Interstate 85. Operations began in May 1995.

NCDOT owns the rolling stock used on the Piedmont, dissimilar the Carolinian, which uses Amtrak rolling stock. Both trains are marketed by NCDOT under the NC By Train brand.

History [edit]

Northward Carolina developed the Piedmont as a regional follow-on to the Carolinian, which had entered service in early 1990. With the growing popularity of the Carolinian, land officials sought to add a second daily circular-trip between Charlotte and Raleigh. However, Amtrak initially balked, claiming that it didn't have plenty rolling stock to spare.^[3] Undaunted, in the fall of 1990, NCDOT approved the acquisition of five used rider cars and the leasing of two diesel locomotives. The board planned to have the second railroad train enter service by early on 1992.^[4]

The Piedmont (as the railroad train came to be called) faced numerous delays. Norfolk Southern, which leased the track, insisted that the state construct a wye in Charlotte for turning the two trains effectually. At the time, the southbound Carolinian had deadheaded 10 miles (16 km) south to the nearest wye in Pineville and turned effectually in that location. In 1993, the cost of the wye plus state purchase was estimated at $200,000; past late 1994, this grew to $695,000, plus $1.five million for a maintenance facility in Raleigh.^{[5] [6]} The Piedmont finally began operating on May 26, 1995.^[vii] Originally, it operated with an early on-morn trip to Charlotte and a nighttime return to Raleigh. Its creation enabled same-day business travel between Charlotte and Raleigh in both directions.

Later on delays in refurbishing the motive power and rider cars, an additional Piedmont round trip began operating on June 5, 2010.^{[8] [9] [ten]} With the addition of the 2d train, Amtrak rebranded the road Piedmont Service to reverberate the multiple daily frequencies.^[eight]

On March 22, 2011, information technology was announced that an understanding between NCDOT, Amtrak, Norfolk Southern and the North Carolina Railroad had been reached that would permit for $461 meg in grants from the federal government to be used in upgrading infrastructure.^[xi] The money would be used to add boosted double track and passing sidings, also equally reducing curves, resulting in a 13-infinitesimal reduction in travel time.^[xi]

NCDOT EMD F59PHI City of Asheville in Charlotte, having but pulled the westbound train from Raleigh

Improvements include the new Raleigh Spousal relationship Station, which had its "ribbon cutting" in late April 2018 and began accepting trains that July.^[12] A tertiary daily Piedmont round trip was added on June 4, 2018.^{[xiii] [fourteen]} A fourth round trip was planned for 2023,^[xv] but as of 2021^[update], Amtrak estimates a 2024 kickoff date.^[16]

On April half-dozen, 2020; the Piedmont was truncated to a single round trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[17] On May eighteen, 2020, the Piedmont was suspended in a farther circular of COVID-related service cutbacks. This left the Carolinian, which returned that solar day after a month-long pause, as the only rail link between Charlotte and Raleigh.^{[18] [19]} The Piedmont returned on August ten, with a single round trip.^[20] A 2nd round trip was restored in December. On Apr 5, 2021, the Piedmont resumed its full schedule of three round trips. This was part of a planned larger restoration of service across the Amtrak organization in the bound and summertime of 2021.^[21]

While the Piedmont is operated by Amtrak crews, most other operations are handled by NCDOT. The state sets schedules, owns the equipment, and handles well-nigh of the marketing. Maintenance is handled by state contractors at facilities in Charlotte and Raleigh.^[iii]

On May 27, 2021, Amtrak released a long-range planning document for improved service in the Southeast Region that proposed additional Piedmont frequencies betwixt Charlotte and Raleigh, also as a potential expansion of two circular trips south to Atlanta, Georgia along the road of the Crescent. If implemented, an additional round trip along this corridor would operate but between Charlotte and Atlanta.^[22]

Accidents and incidents [edit]

On May xiii, 2010, a westbound Piedmont collided with a lowboy tractor-trailer that was stuck on the tracks in Mebane, North Carolina, with xiii people injured.^[23]

Route details [edit]

The Piedmont operates over Due north Carolina Railroad trackage. Norfolk Southern Railway and its predecessors have leased the NCRR from the state since 1871.

• Charlotte District, Charlotte to Linwood
• Danville Commune, Linwood to Greensboro
• Raleigh District, Greensboro to Raleigh

On-board volunteers from the North Carolina Railroad train Host Clan provide information about points of interest in Northward Carolina. Station hosts are also on paw at the Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh stations.

Rolling stock [edit]

Close-upwardly view of two state-owned coaches on the Piedmont.

NCDOT F59PH engine City of Durham at Salisbury.

NCDOT F59PHI engine Metropolis of Salisbury at Greensboro on the Piedmont.

The motive power for the Piedmont has been provided past eight land-endemic locomotives. Two are EMD F59PHIs, numbered 1755 (City of Salisbury) and 1797 (City of Asheville). Six are EMD F59PHs, numbered 1810 (Metropolis of Greensboro), 1859 (City of High Point), 1869 (City of Durham), 1871 (Town of Cary), 1893 (City of Burlington), and 1984 (Metropolis of Kannapolis). NCDOT besides has five cab control units which are numbered 101-105. NCDOT's current F59PHs were originally used by GO Transit of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and rebuilt by American Motive Power and Altoona Works.^[24]

NCDOT formerly operated ii GP40PH-2's rebuilt past AMF. 1768 (City of Charlotte), originally B&O GP40 4008, was sold to the Virginia Railway Limited and became VRE V24.^[25] 1792 (City of Raleigh), originally Fifty&North GP40 3006, was wrecked in the Mebane blow. Everything except the EMD 645 engine, bell and horn were scrapped.

Since at least 2017, the Piedmont has operated with ii locomotives on either cease of the train to improve on-time performance. With the addition of more cab control units, the Piedmont will eventually operate in push-pull mode with a unmarried locomotive.^[26]

State-owned passenger cars on the Piedmont are refurbished double-decker cars originally built by Pullman-Standard and the St. Louis Car Company in the 1960s for the Kansas Urban center Southern and Union Pacific. There are five lounge/luggage cars and i charabanc/luggage car originally congenital by the St. Louis Car Company in the 1950s and used past the United states Army. The lounge auto includes vending machines and complimentary coffee and tea. At that place are 14 regular coaches used on trains in addition to the six lounge/luggage cars. Each motorbus is named after a land landmark or state symbol. During the COVID-related service cutbacks of 2020, NCDOT opted to run the Carolinian rather than the Piedmont to relieve the expense of maintaining the state-owned consists, since the Carolinian uses Amtrak rolling stock.^[19]

All rolling stock has been painted in a blueish and silver livery, with red accents, based on the North Carolina state flag. The Carolinian uses Amtrak's national cherry-white-blueish livery.

In Baronial 2019, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded NCDOT up to $76.ix million to purchase 13 new coaches, allowing the replacement of some older cars and an expansion to four daily round trips.^[27] On May 22, 2020, Senator Thom Tillis announced that NCDOT will receive an $fourscore meg dollar grant to order xiii additional new railcars (for an overall full of 26 new railcars) and 6 new locomotives to replace the residue of the current armada.^[15]

By Feb 2020, 9 former circus railroad train cars purchased by NCDOT for $383,000 in 2017 for restoration and use on the Piedmont were stored in Spring Hope, North Carolina.^[28] The state listed the nine cars for auction in December 2020.^[29] The cars were non sold; they were damaged by fire on March 10, 2022.^[30] The five surviving cars were again listed for sale in April 2022.^[31]

Finances [edit]

During fiscal year (FY) 2016, the Piedmont carried a total of 152,175 passengers, a five.8% subtract from FY 2015'southward total of 161,487 passengers. The train had a total revenue of $iii,213,742 during FY 2016, a drop of 2.7% beneath FY 2015's revenue of $3,402,929.^[32]

Fiscal Year	Ridership	Ridership Change (year to twelvemonth)	Revenue	Revenue Change (year to year)
2009	68,427	n/a	$1,119,573[33]	north/a
2010	99,873	+46.0%	$1,556,873[33]	+39.1%
2011	140,016	+twoscore.2%	$2,498,540[34]	+60.5%
2012	162,657	+sixteen.2%	$3,077,031[35]	+23.2%
2013	170,266 179,566 [i]	+4.7% +x.4% [i]	$iii,325,948[37]	+eight.i%
2014	170,413	-5.1%	$3,402,929[36]	+ii.3%
2015	161,487	-five.2%	$3,304,601[38]	-2.9%
2016	152,175	-5.8%	$iii,213,742[32]	-2.7%
2017	148,000	-2.vii%	$3,213,742[39]	-two.7%
2018	165,244	+x.44%	$3,213,742[39]	-2.vii%
2019	209,053	+26.51%[40]	-	-
2020	113,891	-45.five%[40]	-	-
^ a b In FY 2014, Amtrak began counting bodily lifted ridership for multi-ride tickets (due to eTicketing), rather than the estimated multi-ride ridership used previously. Using the same method, FY 2013 ridership on the Piedmont calculates to 179,556 and the ridership change from FY 2012 to FY 2013 is +ten.iv%.[36]

Station stops [edit]

State	Town/Urban center	Station	Connections
North Carolina	Raleigh	Raleigh	Amtrak: Silver Star, Carolinian GoRaleigh: R-Line, inbound 13 before 7pm, inbound 8 after 7pm
	Raleigh	North Carolina Land Fair	Amtrak: Carolinian
	Cary	Cary	Amtrak: Silvery Star, Carolinian GoCary: iii, 4, 5, 6, KFX GoTriangle: 300, 301
	Durham	Durham	Amtrak: Carolinian GoDurham: all routes except 20 GoTriangle: 400, 405, 700, DRX, ODX Greyhound Buses Megabus
	Burlington	Burlington	Amtrak: Carolinian Elon BioBus: Downtown/East Burlington Loop Alamance County Transportation Authority: on demand
	Greensboro	Greensboro	Amtrak: Crescent, Carolinian GTA: all routes except 12A PART: ii, 4, 9, 10 Greyhound Buses
	High Point	High Betoken	Amtrak: Crescent, Carolinian, Superhighway Motorcoach.[i] Hi tran: all routes Part: three, five[i]
	Salisbury	Salisbury	Amtrak: Crescent, Carolinian Salisbury Transit: all routes Rowan Transit: Rowan Limited
	Kannapolis	Kannapolis	Amtrak: Carolinian CK Rider: Blue, Brown Rowan Transit: Rowan Limited
	Charlotte	Charlotte	Amtrak: Crescent, Carolinian CATS: xi
^ a b Amtrak contracts with Role to provide State highway service to Winston-Salem. Passage is available via through-ticketing or as a separate fare. Both methods are co-branded as NC Amtrak Connector.

An additional station in Lexington operates during the Lexington Barbecue Festival in October.

The NCDOT offers costless transit passes which allow detraining Piedmont passengers to get 1 free bus ride and ane transfer on the aforementioned solar day of travel. Passes are honored past thirteen participating transit systems along its route.

References [edit]

1. ^ "Amtrak Fiscal Yr 2021 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. September 30, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
2. ^ "Amtrak Timetable Results". www.amtrak.com . Retrieved December 20, 2021.
3. ^ ^{a b} Kevin McKinney (November 28, 2018). "North Carolina'due south Successful Alternative Arroyo to Rail". Passenger Train Periodical.
4. ^ "DOT approves funds for Raleigh-Charlotte railroad train". Morning Star. November nine, 1990. Retrieved Apr 4, 2010.
5. ^ "More than delays put 2nd Tar Heel passenger train service off track". Times-News. March 11, 1993. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
6. ^ "New train won't beginning on schedule". Morning Star. November 28, 1994. Retrieved April four, 2010.
7. ^ McDowell, Edwin (June 7, 1995). "Business Travel; There have been x billion passengers since that commencement commercial flight across Tampa Bay in 1914". New York Times . Retrieved April 4, 2010.
8. ^ ^{a b} Bob Johnston (May 2010). "Due north Carolina debuts Piedmont Service". Trains Mag. Kalmbach Publishing.
9. ^ "NCDOT Announces Two Additional Mid-Twenty-four hour period Passenger Trains Betwixt Raleigh and Charlotte to Brainstorm June 5". Due north Carolina Department of Transportation. March 31, 2010. Retrieved Apr 11, 2010.
10. ^ "New mid-day train boosts North Carolina'south Amtrak ridership". Progressive Railroading. August iii, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
11. ^ ^{a b} "North Carolina reaches fast-train deal". Trains Mag. March 22, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
12. ^ Finley, William Needham (May 1, 2018). "Development Beat: A More than Perfect Union Station - ITB Insider™". ITB Insider™ . Retrieved May ii, 2018.
13. ^ Ferrell, Bruce. "Track Service Being Adding Across NC". ncnn.com . Retrieved May two, 2018.
14. ^ North Carolina Department of Transportation (May 1, 2018). "NC Past Train Offering Additional, Daily Round Trip Starting June 4". ncbytrain.org. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
15. ^ ^{a b} "Following Tillis' Button, Section of Commerce Awards $fourscore Million Grant to North Carolina DOT" (Press release). Thom Thillis. May 22, 2020.
16. ^ "Amtrak Five-Year Service Line Plans: Fiscal Years 2020-2025" (PDF). Amtrak. p. 71. Retrieved Nov six, 2021.
17. ^ "Service Adjustments Due to Coronavirus" (Press release). Due north Carolina Department of Transportation. Apr 3, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
18. ^ "Piedmont Passenger Runway Service Suspended". North Carolina Department of Transportation. May thirteen, 2020.
19. ^ ^{a b} Richard Stradling (May 14, 2020). "NCDOT suspends Piedmont train service between Raleigh and Charlotte to save coin". The Charlotte Observer. The News & Observer.
20. ^ "State'southward Piedmont Passenger Runway Service Resumes Operations".
21. ^ Richard Stradling (March 11, 2021). "Full passenger railroad train service to resume in NC for the first time since COVID-19 pandemic". The News & Observer.
22. ^ "Amtrak Connects U.s.a., Corridor Vision" (PDF). Amtrak. May 27, 2021. p. 64. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
23. ^ Minnick, Swain; Smith, Ken; Davis, Stacy (May fourteen, 2010). Hinchcliffe, Kelly; Johnson, Anne; Glusco, Jodi Leese; Hanrahan, Kathy (eds.). "Trains running over again in Mebane after crash; road still blocked". WRAL.com. WRAL-Goggle box. Retrieved October 21, 2015. [A]n Amtrak train slammed into a tractor-trailer, injuring 13 people and leaving massive amounts of wreckage.
24. ^ "Listing of Piedmont equipment endemic by NCDOT" (PDF). 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on Apr six, 2011. Retrieved Oct 21, 2015.
25. ^ "VRE GP40-H2 No. V24". Trainweb.org. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
26. ^ "All Aboard in the Carolinas, Book 23, Issue 3" (PDF). Carolinas Clan for Passenger Trains. May–June 2017.
27. ^ "U.South. Transportation Secretarial assistant Elaine L. Chao Announces $272 Million in 'State of Good Repair' Program Grants" (Press release). Federal Railroad Administration. August 21, 2019.
28. ^ Carrington, Don (February 24, 2020). "NCDOT circus train sits alone in Nash County". Carolina Journal.
29. ^ Stradling, Richard (December 21, 2020). "Own a (big) slice of history: NCDOT puts Ringling Bros. circus train cars up for sale". The News & Observer.
30. ^ Stradling, Richard (March x, 2022). "Fire breaks out on former Ringling Bros. circus train cars that NCDOT stores in the wood". The News & Observer . Retrieved March ten, 2022.
31. ^ Stradling, Richard (April 5, 2022). "NCDOT again tries to sell surplus circus train cars, this time with large price cuts". The News & Observer.
32. ^ ^{a b} "Amtrak® FY16 Ridership & Revenue" (PDF). National Railroad Passenger Corporation. November 17, 2016. Retrieved August eighteen, 2017.
33. ^ ^{a b} "Amtrak Sets New Ridership Tape, Thank you Passengers for Taking the Railroad train" (PDF download). Amtrak. October 11, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
34. ^ "Amtrak Ridership Rolls upwardly Best-always Records" (PDF download). Amtrak. October thirteen, 2011. Retrieved October sixteen, 2011.
35. ^ "Amtrak-Sets-New-Ridership-Record-FY2012" (PDF). Amtrak. October ten, 2012. Retrieved July eleven, 2013.
36. ^ ^{a b} "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2014 Ridership and Revenue (10/01/thirteen-9/thirty/xiv)" (PDF). nationalcorridors.org. October 27, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
37. ^ "AMTRAK SETS RIDERSHIP RECORD AND MOVES THE NATION'S Economic system FORWARD" (PDF download). Amtrak. October 14, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
38. ^ "Amtrak® FY15 Ridership & Revenue" (PDF). National Railroad Rider Corporation. Nov v, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
39. ^ ^{a b} https://www.railpassengers.org/site/avails/files/3455/67.pdf^{[ blank URL PDF ]}
40. ^ ^{a b} Luczak, Marybeth (Nov 23, 2020). "Amtrak Releases FY 2020 Information". Railway Age. New York: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Inc. Retrieved Feb eighteen, 2020.

Notes [edit]

1. ^ Amtrak's Financial Year (FY) runs from October 1st of the prior year to September 30th of the named year.

External links [edit]

Road map:

KML is from Wikidata

• Carolinian & Piedmont – Amtrak
• NCDOT Rail Division
• NC Train Hosts

Is There Rail Service In North Carolina,

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont_%28train%29

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