North Carolina regional transit authority seeks feedback on rail feasibility report

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GoTriangle, the Durham, N.C. region’s transit authority, announced on Jan. 4 that it was looking for input from the public on its Greater Triangle Commuter Rail Feasibility study.

The agency launched a public feedback campaign that allows input through online surveys, community meetings, and public forums in the Durham, Cary, Raleigh, and Clayton, N.C., areas that a commuter rail service would service. According to GoTriangle, the Greater Triangle Commuter Rail would provide a congestion-free transportation option, serving a region expected to grow by more than one million people and cars in the next 30 years.

“I want to congratulate our staff, transit partners, Triangle J Council of Government, and our consultants on a job well done,” said GoTriangle President and CEO Charles Lattuca. “The strategic thinking, planning, engineering, and financial analysis, public outreach, and coordination with our partners was outstanding and gives our elected leaders the information they need to make decisions about our transit future.”

The commuter rail project would include passenger service at 15 stations along 43 miles of North Carolina railroads between West Durham and Clayton, the organization said. GoTriangle’s feasibility study found that the corridor is well-placed to provide affordable housing, future land use, and travel markets.

Additionally, the study found that the region is expected to gain more than 800,000 new jobs by 2050, with nearly half of them (45 percent) located in the commuter rail corridor. Additionally, the study found that the rail system could provide between 12,000 and 18,000 trips each day, helping to relieve some proposed traffic congestion. However, the study said, supporting the capacity needed for the commuter service would require significant investment in new infrastructure and could cost as much as $3.2 billion to build.

GoTriangle said the next step in determining implementation stages for the commuter service would be hearing from the public on which portion of the project should be built first. Once the initial phase of the project is selected, organizers said, the plans for the second phase would take place. The second phase of the project is expected to be operational roughly five years after the initial phase begins service.