The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Rail Division recently posted its “2021 Rail in Review” video, which covers some of the key accomplishments the division made to ensure the state’s rail infrastructure — which includes 3,600 miles of track — is prepared for the future. Notable achievements this past year include:
- the opening in November of the Carolina Connector (CCX) intermodal facility in Edgewood County. Located on 330 acres near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on a CSX mainline, CCX features three wide-span, zero-emission electric cranes with a lift capacity of 110,000 containers per year. Most of the container handling will be fully automated with operators controlling the initial lift and final placement from inside the terminal building.
- substantial progress made on the first phase of the Charlotte Gateway Station project. When completed in 2023, the station will be Charlotte’s multimodal hub.
- a total of $10.2 million in matching grant funds distributed to 12 short lines and the North Carolina Ports Authority to fund infrastructure projects as part of the department’s Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Program. The grant funds contributed to nearly $20.4 million in rail infrastructure improvements statewide.
Among short lines receiving state funds were the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, which obtained a $4.5 million grant for four projects to upgrade track, railroad crossings and bridges; Carolina Coastal Railway, $2.2 million for a project to increase low train speeds by improving bridges and track; R.J. Corman Railroad Co., $2.5 million to upgrade crossings and track; Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad, $1.9 million for two projects to upgrade railroad track and improve bridges, and construct a transload facility with upgraded turnouts; and North Carolina State Ports Authority, $1.4 million for two projects to provide rail upgrades and install radiation scanners necessary for transporting intermodal containers via rail at the Port of Wilmington.
Video courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division.
