Funds to aid North Carolina rail corridor development

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The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Integrated Mobility Division has been awarded a $900,000 Federal Transit Authority (FTA) grant to aid Triangle area S-Line rail corridor development.

“We’re grateful to be working with cities and towns that understand how passenger rail service can spur economic development,” Julie White, NCDOT’s deputy secretary for Multimodal Transportation, said. “This is a great opportunity to use passenger rail to better connect rural and urban communities. It should serve as a model for future projects.”

The S-Line corridor is a passenger rail line beginning at the Virginia border, officials said, traveling through Raleigh while ending at the South Carolina state line.

Apex, Franklinton, Henderson, Raleigh, Sanford, and Wake Forest were the communities that provided matching grant funds. The funds would be used to develop plans focusing on the areas around the rail stations.

The scope of work is slated to involve the exploration of how the rail stations will bolster economic development in their town centers while also addressing connections to bus service, micro-transit, bicycle paths, and greenways.

“The Town of Apex is thrilled to join the North Carolina Department of Transportation and our regional partners in this forward-thinking effort to plan for the future of passenger rail along the S-Line corridor,” Apex Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert said. “Working together, we will realize the substantial economic and mobility benefits of passenger rail for our communities.”

Sanford Mayor Chet Mann said Sanford is thrilled with the prospect of having passenger rail on the S-Line.

“We have a rich train history, as we were founded at the rail crossing in 1874 in what is now our Depot Park,” he said. “This project will usher in a new wave of economic development around an area in our town already designated for revitalization.”