NC Gov. Cooper takes a train ride to promote passenger rail

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper joined state transportation and Amtrak officials on a train ride last week to mark record ridership on the NC By Train's Piedmont route since a fifth daily train was added this summer.

In July, the North Carolina Department of Transportation added a fifth daily round trip on the route between Raleigh and Charlotte.

During a press conference prior to the train ride, Cooper touted new and planned investments that will replace half-century-old, state-owned passenger trains with modern, state-of-the-art locomotives and passenger cars — and potentially lead to new routes within North Carolina.

NC By Train logged its highest ridership in the service’s 32-year history in 2022, and the service is on pace to break that record in 2023. Ridership during the first three quarters of 2023 increased 23% over the same period in 2022. And in October, NC By Train experienced another milestone with its highest ever monthly ridership of 65,980 passengers, NCDOT officials said in a press release.

NC By Train — which provides daily train service between Raleigh, Charlotte and the Northeast — is managed by the NCDOT's Rail Division. Amtrak is the route's operator under a contract with the state.

The Rail Division recently applied for federal funds to explore 12 new routes to destinations such as Asheville and Wilmington. The division has also applied for federal grant dollars that would help cover costs for final engineering and construction work on a proposed passenger-rail route between Raleigh and Wake Forest. This proposal is part of a larger passenger train initiative to connect North Carolina and Virginia’s rail systems with frequent, fast and reliable train service. The state agency expects to hear soon if it has won the grants.