North Carolina NCDOT-Amtrak Piedmont Service

ProgressiveRailroading.com: North Carolina DOT obtains federal, state grants for locomotive upgrades

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) late last week announced a recently awarded federal grant that will help its rail division continue to boost safety along the Piedmont Corridor.

The Federal Railroad Administration awarded the division a $584,080 grant through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program to help fund the purchase and installation of positive train control (PTC) hardware on passenger service locomotives.

The division installed PTC devices on its locomotives ahead of the federally mandated Dec. 31, 2018, implementation deadline. The grant will be used to outfit locomotives that will be required for expanding Piedmont passenger-rail service, including an upcoming fourth round trip between Charlotte and Raleigh beginning in the next few years, NCDOT officials said in a press release.

Six Piedmont trains owned by the NCDOT and operated by Amtrak and the rail division now provide daily service to Charlotte, Kannapolis, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, Cary and Raleigh.
...

Yet another success in a recent long run of big wins in North Carolina. Very happy for them. What they are doing is transformational.

A friend in the industry tells me that NCDOT has acquired one or more passenger cars from Norfolk Southern. He did not provide car numbers/names, but I think this is related to cars that NS acquired at the auction of equipment from the failed Greenbriar Express.

Very impressive pickup on their part.

A new station in Harrisburg NC (the first town east of Charlotte) appears to be officially moving forward:

https://harrisburgnc.org/CivicAlerts.as ... bSMmlQ_pU4

A land purchase agreement between the city and NCDOT has been reached, it is implied that funding has been secured, and (to quote the press release) "NCRR estimates rail service beginning sometime in 2021."

I am a little surprised, this station has been discussed for many years, but never seemed to move beyond the very long-range plan category. New stations in Hillsborough and Lexington always seemed to get more media attention. I have not heard any specifics from the other two cities yet, but I would expect the Hillsborough station to open up in the same time frame (along with Charlotte Gateway).

I would bet this news also presages commuter rail on the NCRR from Charlotte to Salisbury / Spencer. This service does not get discussed much locally, but it is the low-hanging transit fruit in the area and Cabarrus county is showing interest in improved transit to Charlotte. The city of Charlotte has periodically mentioned 'Amtrak' stations at Sugar Creek (Blue Line LRT interface) and UNC Charlotte (about 1.5 miles from LRT currently). I have not heard anything about a Concord station. Its relatively certain that NCRR and NS will require commuter stations to be on sidings and not create any new pedestrian or vehicle crossings over the main so the new service won't be cheap despite the tracks being ready to go.

Commuter rail on the NCRR in the Triangle area is still moving forward. I am interested to hear from NCDOT about how they plan to work Piedmont service around the new commuter stations (in terms of intercity vs. commuter only stops)

^ Nice. How's NCDOT fixed for yard/storage/shops for the trainsets that'd be needed for the potential mix of
+Charlotte & Triangle commuter service
+Additional Piedmont
+Additional Carolinian

(and my fave, the CLT-WAS-via-LYH)

Arlington wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 11:55 am ^ Nice. How's NCDOT fixed for yard/storage/shops for the trainsets that'd be needed for the potential mix of
+Charlotte & Triangle commuter service
+Additional Piedmont
+Additional Carolinian

(and my fave, the CLT-WAS-via-LYH)

My impression is that NCDOT currently has plenty of yard space in both Charlotte and Raleigh for more Piedmont service and longer Carolinian consists. The new Charlotte yard is easily expandable, Raleigh less so.

I don't _think_ this will be sufficient for commuter service in the Triangle or Charlotte and you raise a good point. I'll need to look back to see where CATS planed to store their never-built commuter service to the North and there are certainly plans for commuter train set storage in the Triangle, but I am not familiar with them.

Your favorite train points to my preferred solution to the problem, start (maintain and store) both commuter services in Greensboro, there is plenty of room there.

Bob Roberts wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 12:05 pmmy preferred solution to the problem, start (maintain and store) both commuter services in Greensboro, there is plenty of room there.

A really great idea. I see what you're doing there.

Playing with added commuter stops by the Piedmonter, Greensboro is:
..about 1h45m from Raleigh, ideal for a 6:15a train that gets in at 8:00a (and could become the 10am eastbound)
..about 1h45m from Charlotte, ideal for a 6:45a train that gets at 8:30a (and could become that 10:40a westbound)

and the "last train home" could...
.. leave Raleigh at 7pm (current latest is 5:22p) and get to Greensboro at 8:45
... leave Charlotte at 9pm (or "after the Hornets game") and get to Greenboro at 10:45


In commuter service, it'd be lovely to start a train from GRO every 20 minutes (service every 40 minutes to CLT and every 40 to RGH)
like
5:20 to CLT, arriving 7:05
5:40 to RGH, arriving 7:25
6:00 to CLT, arriving 7:45
6:20 to RGH, arriving 8:05
6:40 to CLT, arriving 8:25
7:00 to RGH, arriving 8:45

Go for it!

So the hundreds of millions of dollars spent to speed up the Piedmonts is counterbalanced by millions of dollars to add more station stops, slowing them down.

OK...

More NCDOT grant news:

North Carolina – Piedmont Intercity Fleet and Infrastructure Investments Project
Up to $76,888,000
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)

The proposed project involves the acquisition of 13 new passenger coaches for use in the Piedmont service and an expansion of the Charlotte Locomotive and Railcar Maintenance Facility (LRMF). The coaches will replace the 1950s and '60s-era coaches currently in use and expand overall fleet capacity. With the new coaches, Piedmont service can increase to four daily frequencies from Charlotte to Raleigh to meet growing passenger demand. Aligning with NCDOT’s equipment overhaul and state-of-good-repair program to improve parts standardization on older cars and reduce stress on inventory of irreplaceable spare parts, the project will result in tangible and measurable improved service reliability and resilience. The selected project would expand the LRMF to include additional storage tracks and interior spaces for inspection, maintenance, and repair and storage of spare parts and supplies.

https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/us-t ... 99-program (Pointed out by Mr. O’Keefe)

This appears to be a major shift in fleet strategy for NCDOT.

Its way too early but we wonder if the order will be for Siemens cars ?

The NCDOT owned heritage cars are considered a "museum on rails." As a railfan, I don't want to see them go. It's time to replace them with more modern equipment.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:34 pm The NCDOT owned heritage cars are considered a "museum on rails." As a railfan, I don't want to see them go. It's time to replace them with more modern equipment.

Yep. They were also a cost-effective way to equip the Piedmonts in the early years. But, as the service grows, they likely could not find many more cars to rehab. Maybe they can be handed down to some other state that wants to start a service.

Any guess as to how many trainsets get configured from 13 coaches?

How many new trainsets vs backfilling retirements on existing?