RALEIGH – Multiple short line railroads will be improving their rail infrastructure thanks to approximately $12 million in grant funds being awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The matching grants come from the department’s Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Program. The program supports rail infrastructure health, safety, and performance throughout the state, enabling NCDOT to partner with rail companies on improvement projects to effectively move freight. This partnership helps railroads efficiently meet customer needs in cost-effective ways, while preparing them for growing service demands and partnerships with new businesses and industries.
The Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Program was established in 2013 by the N.C. General Assembly.
The awarded grants are matched with railroad investments to contribute approximately $24 million in rail infrastructure improvements statewide. Together, these projects will support improvements to 52 railroad bridges and nearly 123 miles of railroad track in North Carolina. The grant funds awarded are as follows:
Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway: $3,563,324 for bridge improvements, siding construction, and track upgrades on the mainline corridor (Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, and Stanly counties)
Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad: $536,908 for track upgrades on the mainline corridor
(Moore County)
Alexander Railroad Co.: $403,995 for track upgrades on the mainline corridor (Iredell County)
Alexander Railroad Co.: $96,000 for track upgrades on the mainline corridor (Alexander County)
Atlantic and Western Railway: $647,985 for bridge improvements and track upgrades (Lee County)
Blue Ridge Southern Railroad: $1,847,754 for bridge improvements and track upgrades on the Canton and Skyland branches (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, and Jackson counties)
Carolina Coastal Railway: $1,154,500 for bridge improvements and track upgrades on the Belhaven, Plymouth, and Wilson branches (Beaufort, Nash, Pitt, and Wilson counties)
Charlotte Western Railroad: $511,032 for construction of two rail sidings on the mainline corridor (Gaston County)
Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad: $403,863 for bridge improvements and track upgrades along the mainline and Pasquotank and Vulcan Lead branches (Perquimans County)
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad: $1,011,978 for bridge improvements and track upgrades along the mainline corridor (Cherokee, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties)
North Carolina and Virginia Railroad: $415,572 for bridge improvements and track upgrades along the mainline, Northampton, Bertie, and Hertford branches (Hertford and Northampton counties)
Raleigh and Fayetteville Railroad: $805,000 for bridge improvements and track upgrades on the Fayetteville Subdivision (Cumberland, Harnett, and Wake counties)
Wilmington Terminal Railroad: $574,914 for track upgrades along the mainline and in the Wilmington yard (New Hanover County)