When $3.5 Million in Federal funds became designated for passenger

rail corridor evaluation in North Carolina, the Wilmington to Raleigh route

(via Goldsboro) was one of seven routes to receive $500,000 to get started.

One of those corridors stands out because it proposes a direct high

speed Amtrak connection to the Greenville-Spartanburg International

Airport in South Carolina and then Atlanta Hartsfied-Jackson International,

the world’s busiest airport.

While Amtrak currently connects directly with only four airports

nationwide: Baltimore/Washingon (BWI), Hollywood Burbank (BUR)

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) and Newark Liberty

International Airport (EWR), it provides service to others by commuter rail

links.

Could Wilmington International Airport (ILM) be next? The tracks for

the proposed Wilmington/Raleigh train route actually cross Hall Road (off

Blue Clay Road) at the old airport entrance and could theoretically be

connected to an airport terminal with short spur.

Think about it. Out of the 20 flights that go inbound and outbound

from Wilmington daily only six each go to a North Carolina destination

(Charlotte). None go to Raleigh although Piedmont Airlines once

connected Wilmington and Raleigh in the pre-jet era.

If you want to go to Raleigh right now from the Port City on mass

transit, you have to take a bus. That’s why rail makes so much sense with

a target of 70 – 80 mph trains and estimated travel time under three hours

according to current estimates.

Adding three round trips from ILM is almost like adding three more

flights (each way) a day and providing a commuter link to downtown, too

(where the new Wilmington train station will be located). In fact, one DOT

Rail official suggested that the potential for more commuter trains from the

airport to the city could make sense in the future.

The rapid growth of ILM has been nothing short of astounding over

the last 50 years. With the Raleigh rail proposal from Wilmington now on

the table, creating an airport link would not significantly add to the total

project cost, expected to be greater than $300 million. In addition, federal

funds are specifically available for airport expansion – which could cover a

terminal link to rail travel.

DOT-Rail officials point out that each stop on the Wilmington/Raleigh

routeadds approximately eight minutes to the total travel time and stops

that use a spur (such as Goldsboro, too) will take a little longer. How many

passenger stops that will be created along the way is open to question

although Burgaw, Wallace, Warsaw, Goldsboro, Selma and Clayton are all

open to consideration. So why not ILM?

(Steve Unger is President of Eastern Carolina Rail, a non-profit

organization dedicated to restoring rail travel between Wilmington and

Raleigh).