NORFOLK, Va. — The federal government is providing a major financial boost to several passenger rail projects nationwide, including a $1.09 billion grant to develop an Amtrak route connecting Raleigh, North Carolina to Richmond, Virginia.
The grant will support the development of a section of the S-Line freight route, which is between Raleigh and Petersburg and partially out-of-service, into a passenger rail route. It's one of 10 nationwide projects that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced on Friday would be funded.
A document from the administration said the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will use the grant to complete the final design, acquire the right-of-way and begin construction activities on additional parts from Raleigh to Wake Forest, North Carolina.
The Raleigh to Richmond route project has been long in the works as a partnership between NCDOT and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA). Officials say the project will close a critical gap in the Southeast Corridor, which seeks to connect major southeastern cities to Washington, D.C., and beyond.
One of the main hurdles is acquiring the right of way from the S-Line owner CSX. Virginia purchased the right of way from Petersburg to Ridgeway, North Carolina in March 2021. North Carolina officials are working to finish a deal to do the same on their side of the state line, according to Gov. Roy Cooper's office.
In addition to the Raleigh to Richmond route project grant, the Federal Railroad Administration granted $729 million to VPRA to expand capacity along 12 miles of rail between Richmond and Washington, D.C.
Additionally, on Friday, the Federal Railroad Administration announced funding to help plan new passenger rail routes nationwide, including $500,000 for a proposed Amtrak extension to Bristol and $500,000 to connect Newport News with Richmond, Charlottesville and the New River Valley.
The funding comes as both Virginia and North Carolina see high numbers of people using passenger rail to travel.
VPRA said in July that it set an all-time high record for ridership during the fiscal year 2023, with 1.26 million passengers. In November, NCDOT said the state's passenger rail served a total of 449,898 passengers during the first three quarters of 2023.