Creasy336

It seems to me the press always underscores the progress North Carolina towards improving rail infrastructure. North Carolina has dozens of downtown's, educational facilities, jobs centers, and population centers located along its rail corridors. I envision North Carolina's towns and cities from Raleigh to Charlotte will have access to high speed rail, high frequency intercity rail, and commuter rail within 20 years. Then people nationally will finally take notice of the progress NC has made.

When the section of track from Gibsonville to Mebane gets double tracked its going to be a complicated and expensive project.

Urban Outfitters is actually searching for management postions for Friendly. On all the job sites I've seen say the store will open around Winter 2009.

Best news I've heard all week.

High Point

So are EMUs out of the question? Hopefully we'll see the rail line from DC to Charlotte electrified someday and a catenary built for this system could the catalyst for that to happen. I do realized the high cost of constructed such a system but the benefits of having stations close together coupled with the acceleratrion speed of EMUs could benefit the Raleigh-Durham area. Just a thought. Is the system in Austin similar to TTA's original proposal or is it more of a commuter based system?

Personally I like HTIB study and the idea of commuter rail along the NCRR. This is similar to the vision I have had for this part of NC since I moved from NYC. Commuter rail would serve Alamance County commuters well. There are alot of large abandoned and lightly used warehouses some dating from the late 1800s which could be revitilized and used for TODs. As gas prices go up and people grow tired of their commute, I can see many people heading to DUKE and UNC hospitals, RTP, and Downtown Raleigh boarding at the Burlington, and Mebane stations (Graham should be included). Also People in the Alamance County would have excellent access to Elon, Elon Law School, UNCG and NCAT. The whole University Road station concept is cool except for the fact there is nothing there at the moment. When I look at the Blue Line I notice only 2 peak hour trains will travel past West Durham, I am assuming the other two travel all the way to Greensboro.

Can't Wait!!!

I love Minj Grille, The Wings, and the live music, good pick Crowe

How about branching off two tracks from the NCRR and having them go below grade underneath the MMTC? The tracks could merge back with the existing tracks right outside the immediate area. This would create a single focal point of transit. At the very least it would allow commuters to have the convenience of simply travel up or down an escalator when switching trains. I could see another NY-FLA train routed through Raleigh as well with the arrival of the new station and rejuventaion of the S Line. EDIT: I didn't intend on ending conversation on this issue with my post. Please disregard it and continue with discussion.

Orulz that map you have posted has made my day. All of the stations locations they are studying make sense to me with the exection of a few in Orange County which I am very familiar with. I am assuming all of those stations would have very well planned large TODs around them due to the high demand to live in Orange County and the scarcity and price of the current housing stock. I can envision the University Road station having the most potential if the Rail lines were built out according to that map. I will admit I was a skeptic concerning the University Railroad line and Hillsbrough having an Amtrak Station due to Chapel Hill's proximity to Durham but after thinking about it more I've come to realize that the Hillsborough Station will end up doing suprisingly well. Most Chapel Hill residents will choose the Hillsborough station over the Durham station for more reasons than I am willing to list here. Chapel Hill Transit will more than likely have bus service from the stations to campus and points throughout Chapel Hill and Carrboro. I am curious to know since each line will have rush hour service, 4 morning, 1 mid-day, and 4 Evening, will this apply to each line if so University Road to Raleigh will have a total of 8 morning, 1 mid-day, and 8 evening. This could be an excellent gauge on transit in the Triangle.

If Hickory isn't careful they could end up with an "Amshak" . Hopefully the elected officials there will have a change of heart.

Even Google Streetview forgets about Burlington....

I'm wondering if they put a station in Conover does this mean NCDOT plans to exclude Hickory when it finally implements Western NC rail?

Great news! I'm sure the added convenience and flexibility for North Carolina train riders will boost ridership alot higher than it already it is. Now if Raleigh and Charlotte can get their signature stations built North Carolina will really have its act together.

I can see large concerts/ coliseum events attracting alot of people to downtown now, also don't forget about events such as NC A&Ts homecoming, concerts at UNCG, and graduation time. Some people take "local" vacations in nice hotels just to take a break from life. I know these events alone wouldn't draw enough traffic, but im sure there are a multitude of events I left off. I'd be satisfied with the construction of a downtown hotel as long as it isn't anything outlandish. EDIT: What hotels are in downtown Greensboro besides the Marriot and the Greensboro Inn which really isn't a hotel (Anyone from Greensboro knows what im talking about).

Isn't Sears trying to move more towards free standing stores such as Sears Grand, The Great Indoors etc? If so then I believe Sears leaving CVM might be the case. That K-Mart location near TTC would be the perfect location for a Sears Grand to come especially with Super Wal-Mart coming in to try and finish off K-Mart.

Personally I as posted earlier in his thread I would love to see NCRR evolve into a NJ Transit type entity with regional trains centered around Raleigh and Chalotte with connections and transfers possible in the Triad area. Amtrak could serve as an express route between the states larger cities.

Electronic Message boards directing all Rock Hill and Columbia (or Mooresville/ Statesville depending on the rush hour) traffic to I-485 during rush hour would help. Charlotte is lucky though, if I-77 was substandard through uptown you would see Green 77 routed through uptown and a I-77/I-485 multiplex on the westside of the city. Look at your neighbors to the north for evidence.

Here is an article in the Burlington Times News that talks about a sizeable jump in ridership on Amtrak within our state. Burlington and many other small to medium size cities in NC were the cities that had most increase in ridership. Overall NC's train stations had a growth of 10,000 passengers getting on and off the train. This is positive news especially in cities like Burlington and Wilson. I know for myself people always tell me they'd use the train if it were more convient here where we live (4 trains daily). Just by chance in today's article it mentions Burlington recieving an Amtrak Quik-Traks ticket machine in July related to the increase in ridership with hopes of boosting that further. Related to whats already been stated by Chief and others on this topic, the lady interviewed in this article had to deboard the Carolinian in Richmond VA and take a bus! She still gave positive reviews about rail transit and its convience.

As far as service on the Piedmont and Carolinian goes, I would like to see reservations removed from both trains, atleast in coach. Also I would like to see ticket machines added to all amtrak stations within the state. This would boost ridership along with the addition of the mid-day train.

This is my last post about green interstates. There is a reason most states opt to not have green interstates. They are confusing to motorist. Locals still call I-40 in Winston-Salem "New" 40 and unless you know what they're talking about you have no clue what they mean. No other states around us are so prolific with this business interstate numbering system. I can't imagine VA re-routing I-95 along I-295 because most of that stretch is substandard. To be honest though my main concern with this is the continued blight of that area as the surviving businesss will continue to struggle. I would argue that using the US routes alone would be enough for old I-85/40 through death valley. Death Valley isn't that bad, what causes the problem is the short on ramp from MLK that causes drivers to suddenly have to merge into speeding left lane traffic, also having only 1 lane exiting onto US 29 NB. But whats done is done, US 29 is still a traffic problem daily theres just less through traffic now.

Regarding the SEHSR will there be a 2-3 gap where you have to travel to Raleigh to catch this line? At the point will it be Washington DC to Raleigh or Richmond to Raleigh? Either way I look forward to being able to enjoy a quick speedy trip to DC and then transfer to the Acela on trips to the see the family in NYC. I hope this project gets off the ground soon. Recently NCDOT officials came to Alamance County in the Graham and Haw River area imforming property owners about the planned straightening of curves through the area and the addition of a second track. I'm still concerned about the bridge crossing the Haw River and how it will affect NC's rail future.

I'd say if NCDOT were to agree to implement some form of commuter rail to downtown Winston-Salem and Forsyth county, then go for the 2 year closing and get the project over and done with (6-7 years is alot longer than you think). With the synchonization of lights through out downtown and use of proper signage it doesn't have to be that bad. There is I 40 bypass less than 2 miles south of the existing I-40 business. I agree that NCDOT should have used I-885 (Or 685 making it a numeric progression of 285 in Atlanta, and 485 in Charlotte). Using x74 on the Winston-Salem beltway isn't that bad though. Anyone know if Green 40 be up to interstate standards along its entirety once this project is complete?

I've looked at the rail line many times with similar thoughts. It connects downtown with Greensboro College and Battleground Av near Cornwallis. I encourage Greensboro to use the line as a trolley with the intent of it one day becoming light rail. When light rail service begins add a spur to UNCG to help spur development along Lee St/High Point Rd.