The North Carolina Dept. of Transportation is continuing to press ahead with development of its part of a planned high-speed rail corridor connecting Raleigh and Richmond, Va., even as nearly $1.1 billion in federal funding remains in limbo.

Known as the S-Line, the collaboration between NCDOT and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) aims to upgrade an existing 162-mile CSX-owned freight line to support passenger rail service between the two state capitals. The project, planned for completion in 2030, would be part of a long-planned Southeast Corridor high-speed rail route connecting Atlanta with Washington, D.C.

S-Line proponents say the region is ripe for expanded passenger rail service, as evidenced by a recent Amtrak report citing its stations in Virginia and North Carolina as being the busiest in the Southeast. Along with saving more than an hour of travel time between Richmond and Raleigh, NCDOT says the ability to support more frequent and reliable train service will make the trip to Washington, D.C. competitive with driving times.

Since 2020, NCDOT has received multiple Federal Railroad Administration grants for purchase of right of way, surveying, preliminary engineering and location studies for stations. However, the largest award to date, a $1.09-billion grant funded under the 2023 FRA Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP) program, was among what U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently told Congress were 3,200 unfinalized grants that his agency had paused for review.

North Carolina officials, including Gov. Governor Josh Stein (D) and state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins have reportedly met with Duffy to push for preserving the grant, which funds design and construction of the S-Line’s initial 18-mile segment from Raleigh to Wake Forest. The work includes new and upgraded track, and replacement of at-grade crossings with highway/rail overpasses. NCDOT’s Rail Division, which held a groundbreaking ceremony for the S-Line last July, continues the administrative work related to getting the project underway in anticipation of the original 2030 service start-up date, according to local media.

Earlier this year, NCDOT announced that it will administer a $13.2-million federal grant to design and build a “mobility hub” in Wake Forest that includes an S-Line passenger rail service and access to “last-mile” solutions for travelers such as public transit, walking, biking and ride-sharing services. Other cities along the corridor have also begun planning for stations and other facilities to support S-Line service, NCDOT says.

Many other needs remain for NCDOT, however, including acquiring approximately 10 miles of the route located just below the state line. With 110-mph passenger trains planned for the S-Line, much of the corridor also requires upgraded signals and other infrastructure improvements to safely accommodate anticipated freight service capacity needs.

As part of a 2021 agreement with CSX, VPRA acquired its 75-mile portion of the S-Line corridor, which has been out of service since the late 1980s. According to an agency spokesperson, VPRA has been working with NCDOT and other partners to review service planning, corridor alignment and other project elements in preparation of the upcoming design work that will be conducted with the federal grant award. The agency has also begun procurement of design services for corridor infrastructure improvements.

“VPRA is confident that progress on the S-line will continue and the funding that was previously awarded will be obligated per a grant agreement,” an agency spokesperson says.