NCDOT Invests $1.8M in Short Line Infrastructure
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway’s Summit View rail car.
Courtesy of NCDOT
RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Rail Division will invest $1.8 million to match funding that will improve rail infrastructure on three short lines.
According to the NCDOT, this comes in addition to $10.2 million in grants to 12 short line railroads that was announced in December 2023. The $1.8 million comes from the NCDOT’s Freight Rail & Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program that was established in 2013. This will match equal investments from other railroad companies.
The projects include three railroad bridges and 18 miles of track improvements across the state. Once completed, these improvements will help to increase rail traffic, thereby reducing highway congestion by rerouting freight to rail.
The projects that will be paid for by 50-50 matching funds from the state and railroads are:
- Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway: $762,148 will go toward track and bridge upgrades as well as constructing rail sidings and transloading infrastructure along the Piedmont and Sandhills divisions
- Alexander Railroad Company: $338,320 will go toward upgrading track on the mainline rail corridor in Alexander County
- RJ Corman Railroad Company: $666,764 will go toward improving the corridor in the Conway and Mullins branches in Columbus County
NCDOT Rail Director, Jason Orthner, said, “We value our continued partnership with the short line railroads of North Carolina. . . These projects improve the safe and efficient transit of freight, while safeguarding the viability of our statewide freight rail network.”
