Lexington, N.C., rail stop to be in place by 2015

The Lexington, N.C., City Council heard an on progress to open a passenger rail stop in downtown Lexington, which could be operational as soon as 2015, The Dispatch reported.

William Deal, chairman of
the Davidson County Passenger Rail Committee and executive director of the
Tourism and Recreation Investment Partnership of Davidson County, explained the
process so far. The rail committee began studying ways to encourage the N.C.
Department of Transportation Rail Division to build a passenger rail stop in
Lexington. City officials hoped a rail stop would encourage the redevelopment
of the depot district and began efforts to lease and renovate the former
freight depot and pursue funding.

Deal said the city began
working with the N.C. Railroad Co., owner of the freight depot, in 2006. It was
last month before the lease was finalized.

"If you do the math,
that is over three years, and we understand that in railroad terms, three years
is like immediate gratification," Deal said.

Using $131,500 in grant and
city funds, the city will renovate the freight depot for the Lexington Farmer’s
Market to use in May 2010. The next step in securing an Amtrak stop in
Lexington is to appeal to the NCDOT Rail Division. Deal said a passenger
service impact study Amtrak performed in March 2006 estimated a Lexington depot
would see a ridership of 10,300 annually. In 2007, those results prompted NCDOT
Rail Division to express interest in opening a local depot. Last month, Deal
said he and city officials traveled to Raleigh and spoke with NCDOT planners.

"What we were told is
they expressed a commitment in their planning for a future development of their
Raleigh-Charlotte passenger rail program to the establishment of an Amtrak
station in Lexington," Deal said.

Deal said NCDOT also
informed the group that a new depot in both Lexington and Hillsborough, long
stretches of track with no local stops, were part of improvements in rail
service to be completed by 2015. Plans for a high-speed rail corridor from
Raleigh to Charlotte have been submitted by the NCDOT for federal stimulus
money. Deal said it was not likely the corridor would be totally funded through
stimulus money, but NCDOT officials assured him there would be eight passenger
trains running both ways from Raleigh to Charlotte and a rail stop in Lexington
by 2015.

Estimated cost to establish
a stop here is $7.2 million, Deal said, which covered safety improvements,
track realignment, renovation and construction of a partially covered platform.
He added that stimulus money would cover all of the cost, if the project is
awarded a grant. Without it, the city will likely be required to match cost,
traditionally about 20 percent.

Deal said he discussed placement
of a new station with NCDOT rail division officials. Placement will depend on
several factors, including the city’s plans to redevelop the Lexington Home
Brands Plant No. 1 property and location of rail signals. Presenting the
council with photos of track just over the East Center Street bridge, Deal
explained that to accommodate wider tracks straddling a new platform, some
excavation would have to be done under the bridge.

Much work still needs to be
done, Deal said, and he recommended the city council contact representatives in
Washington, D.C., to support the rail project being considered for stimulus
money. The city also has the option to improve infrastructure around the
railroad tracks to make the project more appealing to transportation officials.

Sharing observations made
on a recent Amtrak ride to Raleigh, Deal pointed out that depots in bad parts
of cities like Durham have been successfully redeveloped into thriving areas.
He suggested passenger rail was the cause.

"Think about it. If
it’s a $7.2-million project, and if you go stand on the Center Street bridge
and look down there, ask yourself when was the last time $7.2 million was spent
on that area," Deal said.