On an ominous night in March 1968, a sizeable crowd gathered to watch the “Palmetto” pull out of Wilmington, North Carolina, at 5:15 p.m. on the Seaboard Coast Line—headed to Rocky Mount and connecting to Raleigh. With this event, passenger trains from the former corporate home of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad were now history. But today, change is in the air.

The return of the passenger rail started with a whisper. A 2005 N.C. Department of Transportation study laid out the case for its return, with the biggest missing link (other than the missing tracks from Castle Hayne to Wallace) being the funding needed to restore the trains.

But now, funding for this and six other passenger rail projects could be coming. Up to $500,000 in Federal dollars is now devoted to a project assessment through the Corridor Identification or CID process, which is underway. That should lead to the actual planning process, where both state and federal funding will be needed. The majority of the actual funding would come from the infrastructure law previously passed into law by Congress, with partial state matches being part of the project.

The current governmental spending freeze has slowed transportation projects in general, including funds for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement. 

One rail project already underway comes from the $1.09 billion allocation to create a new high-speed rail route between Raleigh and Richmond, Virginia. It also includes $3.5 million to identify and develop all seven passenger rail segments statewide, including Raleigh to Wilmington via Goldsboro, which could host up to three Amtrak trains a day.  The project envisioned for Raleigh to Wilmington for the entire project has an estimated final price tag of $810,000 million, or about the same amount it would take to build a proposed 15-mile connecting freeway between North Myrtle Beach and North Carolina near Shallotte.

The Wilmington to Raleigh passenger link also envisions the creation of several stops along the way to serve rural communities and Goldsboro.

According to the DOT, federal funding of greater than $100 million will eventually require a 20 percent match from state sources. Meanwhile, the 2005 Survey has been updated (see copy attached to this web page). Tracks must be restored between Castle Hayne and Wallace, bridges and trestles replaced, tracks upgraded, and agreements between CSX, Amtrak, and other entities worked out.

To make passenger trains a reality over the next decade or sooner, support is needed – from county boards, municipalities, members of Congress and U.S. Senators, state legislators, and the public sector - especially in light of the current governmental spending freeze. We need to make sure transportation funding does not go elsewhere.  To that end, Eastern Carolina Rail,  a non-profit organization, is spearheading the fight to return passenger rail to the coast, making the merits of this project known and gaining support for it.

So, here is how you can provide support. First, put your name on file with others supporting the return of passenger rail from Raleigh to Wilmington. Next, call, write, or e-mail the public office holders listed HERE and request their support. Finally, make your feelings known to the NC Rail Division of the DOT and let them know you support more passenger rail—a cleaner and less expensive way to travel.

Attached to this web page is a sample letter you can use for that purpose!

Let everyone know you will ride the train, whether for business or pleasure.   Follow our efforts at Eastern Carolina Rail and volunteer to get involved. 

Steve Unger

Gene Merritt