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State Department of Transportation is also interested in fostering commuter rail between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest and perhaps to Apex on a little-used freight line owned by CSX, says Jason Orthner, director of NCDOT’s Rail Division.
Speaking at a forum on transportation challenges facing the region Wednesday night, Orthner said the state is interested in buying the line from CSX. The state would then develop the corridor for freight trains as well as commuter and eventually Amtrak passenger trains.
Remember, this is for Commuter Rail NOT Light Rail. These trains connect suburbs to the city center. They have lower frequency and fewer stops. They are usually larger and have more room for people on board.
Some examples are the Long Island Rail Road and Virginia Railway Express.
Fair to say this is decades away. More likely that commuter trains on some portion of Hillsborough-Durham-RTP-Morrisville-Cary-Raleigh-Garner-Clayton-Selma/Smithfield-Goldsboro will come first.
What'd percentage of people in WF and Apex work in Raleigh? The Triangle is unique in that there are multiple employment hubs in a small area. Commuter rail to one location seems like a giant waste of money.
I don't know where the tracks run, but is there room for enormous parking lots? Because getting up at 4am to get a parking spot like in other cities, doesn't work.
Throwing money at public transportation isn't always the solution, no matter how badly people want Raleigh to he a "real city". Let's see how technological advances and automation pan out first
Throwing money at public transportation isn't always the solution, no matter how badly people want Raleigh to he a "real city". Let's see how technological advances and automation pan out first
The problem is that things take years and years to implement so by the time you figure out the negative impacts of upcoming technology, if you haven’t started the process already, it will be too late. (Why focus on unknowns when you do have a known technology that has worked worldwide)
(We also are getting a glimpse of what an automated future might look like, Uber/Lyft has been making traffic worse in cities)
Last edited by pierretong1991; 05-30-2019 at 03:24 PM..
I recently visited Salt Lake City and had the opportunity to use the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) light rail. The tracks are in the middle of the major streets, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. When SLC was planned by Brigham Young about 1850, he directed that the streets be wide enough for a wagon team to turn around without "resorting to profanity." That was 132 feet. Today, the rail system runs from Provo in the south to Ogden in the north, a distance of about 80 miles.
I was staying in a hotel on the main NS line in DT. When it came time to go to the airport for the flight home, I walked out of the hotel and up half a block to a station. For $1.25 (senior rate), the train took me directly to the terminal I was flying out of. The ride was quiet, smooth, and pleasant. That trip was equivalent to a cab ride from DT Raleigh to RDU. What, $25-30?
That system is great. Wish we had something like it. Maybe someday.
What'd percentage of people in WF and Apex work in Raleigh? The Triangle is unique in that there are multiple employment hubs in a small area. Commuter rail to one location seems like a giant waste of money.
I don't know where the tracks run, but is there room for enormous parking lots? Because getting up at 4am to get a parking spot like in other cities, doesn't work.
Throwing money at public transportation isn't always the solution, no matter how badly people want Raleigh to he a "real city". Let's see how technological advances and automation pan out first
You have to look at it over decades. I am sure a lot more would move to those town & more businesses would move to DT Raleigh to help facilitate it. I would love to be able to take a commuter rail right to my job.
I think commuter rail between Raleigh, Cary, RTP, and Durham would be a pretty good first step for rail transit in this area. Progress feels painfully slow considering the bond referendum was approved in 2016 and now it is 2019 with no apparent progress.
I would personally love to see light rail, but I know that would be tough with the long distances between nodes and relatively light population density. Maybe North Hills to Downtown to NC state to PNC/Carter-Finley as a start. That would connect several nodes in about 10 miles which is about the length of the original Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte.
For me it is difficult to see rail that requires a transfer to a shuttle being successful for the airport. Once you have to change modes I think people would prefer to just take a single different mode.
Not rail, but I hope the BRT is successful. The Triangle really needs to step up its transit game, it is honestly pretty pathetic as is. I have used the Raleigh buses and it was not a great experience. I am a transit by choice rider, and when the service is bad I choose to drive. Wish there was a better alternative. I previously lived in DC and used the Metro daily, which was fantastic (obviously DC is a much larger, denser, legacy city, I don't expect that level of transit here, but something more than what currently exists would be nice).
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