Raleigh to Charlotte in under an hour and you would not even have to drive. If a proposed high speed rail system comes to fruition, travel between many North Carolina and Virginia cities may become just that easy.
The proposed Southeast High Speed Rail corridor would pass through Norlina and Henderson en route to Raleigh. After stopping in Raleigh, another train would take passengers to Charlotte via Winston-Salem.
The system would not be complete until after 2010, said Julia Hegele, spokesperson for the SEHSR Department of Transportation.
In 1992, the federal government designated the southeast corridor as one of five areas where high speed rail routes would be built. Originally, there were nine alternative routes for the southern corridor; the current plan is the result of a combination and extension of two of these alternatives, Hegele said.
"[The high speed rail] will give the people who travel the shorter distances a better option," Hegele said. "For example, if you want to travel to downtown Washington, you previously had two options beside [Amtrak], driving and flying. If you drive, it is often stressful time."
She added that although tickets on the high-speed route would cost as much as regular airfares and travel would take the same amount of time as flying, it would be more convenient as passengers would not have to worry about airport delays or driving to downtown Washington, D.C., from the airport.
Triangle area travelers will continue to have access to the current Amtrak route from Washington to Charlotte via Richmond even after the new high speed system goes into operation.
Amtrak officials do not anticipate competition between the existing service in North Carolina and the new rail.
"High speed rail is not an area for competition," said Howard Riefs, an Amtrak spokesperson. "Amtrak supports North Carolina's leadership and role to deliver high speed rail to the state."
Financially, the proposal is several years from implementation because federal, state and local funding requests would have to be submitted before work can begin. Many aspects of the project are contingent upon the amount of federal funding the SEHSR receives.
"There will be private participation, but it is too soon in the process to know how that will work out," Hegele said. "Four [high speed rail funding] bills are currently in Congress. The majority of funding will depend on how much money we secure from those bills."
Durham mayor Bill Bell said the system will benefit Triangle businesses. "The rail could have an effect similar to what [Raleigh-Durham International Airport] did for the area, but on a smaller scale."
Locally, Durham has plans to develop a more efficient train station.
"Hopefully, the rail will enhance the viability of the new Durham multi-modal center that the city has plans to construct," said Wesley Parham, the city's assistant transportation manager. The proposed station would allow rail commuters to connect with city bus services.
Parham also said there are tentative plans to construct another station for the Carolinian, North Carolina's rail system.
"All of these stations would be in eyesight of each other, facilitating the movement from one mode of transportation to another," he said.
Parham said the system could suffer a setback if the state Department of Transportation goes ahead with a plan to close several rail closings--making it more difficult for passengers to get to a station.
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