Local rail improvements focus on safety

Travelers heading to Washington, D.C., will be whizzing through University City, N.C., at 90 mph sometime in the next few years, and that is causing rail officials in Raleigh to look at changes to protect Charlotte's drivers, residents and trains, Carolina Weekly reports. Improvements are planned for 12 miles of the existing track starting south of N.C. 49 near Concord and reaching all the way to Orr Road in the University City area. The project is just one of a number of projects the N.C. Railroad/Norfolk Southern Railway plan along a much larger section of track.

"It’s the highest-volume
railroad corridor in the state," said Jason Orthner with the N.C. Department of
Transportation’s Rail Division in Raleigh. "The volume continues to increase.
It’s becoming more of a high-traffic area as the area around Charlotte develops
more and more."

Track improvements will
enable trains to increase their speed, from 79 mph on the existing track to 90
mph, according to Orthner, while the addition of a parallel track will allow
two trains to run at once and help relieve the current bottleneck of trains
waiting their turn in the busy corridor.

The track was laid out in
the 19th century with a number of curves that must be straightened, Orthner
said. The straighter track will improve travel time while decreasing wear on
the tracks and help fuel efficiency for the 40 trains that use the corridor
daily.

All that equals more
trains, moving at a faster speed, around a growing University City populace.
Planners are prepared to handle that scenario.

"As the volume increases,
we need to insure that the trains and the people can operate," Orthner said.

That means eliminating
some road-rail crossings, which has raised concerns for some residents and
businesses. At a recent District 4 town forum with City Council member Michael
Barnes, a resident said he would rather listen to a train blow its horn
repeatedly to warn of crossing danger than close some crossings.

Lou Vargochik, who owns
Xtreme Custom Screenprinting, agrees. Closing one local crossing would cripple
his Orr Road business and many others in the area.

"We’ve never had any
problems here," Vargochik said of the crossing where Newell Hickory Grove and
Old Concord roads come together at Orr Road. "There’s no reason to close it. We
absolutely need this one."

Vargochik acknowledged he’s
seen tractor-trailers get stuck on the tracks, as the roadway drops off on both
sides of the raised rail line. Signs in the area warn of the potential danger.
A stop sign immediately on one side of the tracks also causes backups that
could potentially result in a driver stopping in front of a train. Because of
that, transportation officials have identified the Newell Hickory Grove Road
crossing as one they’ll likely close, in favor of building bridges over the
tracks further down the line.

"That would be
devastating," Vargochik said. "That would make it almost totally impossible to
get here."

But with "safety being
one of the paramount elements" to the project, Orthner said some sacrifices would
have to be made. One way to keep cars and trains off the same path is erecting
bridges over the tracks. Officials are considering a couple bridges, Orthner
said, including in Harrisburg at Pharr Mill Road, at Caldwell Road west of
Harrisburg and around Orr Road and Grier Road.

"We can’t do it
everywhere," Orthner said. "But we’ll try to eliminate that conflict (between
trains and cars) absolutely to the best that we can."

Rail officials will also
continue taking suggestions from residents about ways to improve the plan.

Transportation officials
plan at least one more public forum, possibly two depending on how plans for
the project change. Vargochik plans to attend the next one.

Orthner said work may begin
on the improvements toward the end of 2012 or early 2013. The work could take
two to three years and will complement other projects, like rail improvements
almost complete at Back Creek Church Road and University City Boulevard.