Piedmont and North Carolina DOT Service discussion

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Mystic River Dragon said:
Sounds wonderful! Hope you have a great time — I’m sure the passengers will enjoy it. Thank you for doing such a nice project and let us know how it goes.
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I am on the 73/74. I am supposed to do a GRO-CLT then CLT-RGH then RGH-GRO in one day but this trip count as long as I board the train at BNC otherwise the GRO-CLT the CLT-GRO trip is too short to count for a training ride.

I am looking forward to it. I
 
My ride went very well. The two conductors were very nice as was my trainer. The train was an hour late into my station so the turn at Charlotte was not the 50 minutes scheduled but about 10 minutes for us and then we took our place to help direct those boarding into the correct side of the tunnel for loading. So lunch was not at the station but on the train back. Otherwise is was a fun morning though I would have been OK sleeping in just a bit more on a Saturday morning. One more training ride on Wednesday and that will be GRO-CLT-RGH-GRO (73-74-77)
 
4th Piedmont round-trip started today. The first out of the gate, 71, that is skipping three stations, was 3 minutes late into Charlotte I was told. All the data for the stops never showed on some of the webstites that have historical data, but 3 minutes is not bad for trains on freight lines in the US. 72 north back to Raleigh was 29 minutes late.

Including Crescent, Carolinian, and Piedmont, Charlotte and Greensboro have 12 train stops a day. Both are also open 24/7.

Raleigh and Cary have the Carolinian, Piedmont and Silver Star and 12 stops as well. Both stations do close for a few hours each day.
 
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New Service Sale

NC By Train is running a half price sale on the adult fare for travel within N.C. for the Piedmonts and Carolinians for July 2023. The website is a little tricky. Here's what you do:

Click on the above link.
Click on Deals - Current Offers - NC By Train New Services Celebration Sale.
Click on Book Your Trip Now. Notice the promo code.
Fill out form that is presented. Select the Adult fare. The promo code will not work if you select Senior.
Fill out the rest of the forms.

jb
 
So frustrating that often times Amtrak sales are difficult to hear about and extremely unintuitive to apply when searching. Imagine if they had a booking system like nearly all other rail companies around the world: it would give you the lowest prices based on the information you give in your booking search.
 
For what it is worth as of two weeks ago, I was told, one has to register and get a parking sticker again at the long term parking lot that is owned by the city.

Was on the Crexcent and had to email the city (or leave a voice mail message) that includes Amtrak Reservation number. I was told this applies to any car in lot, be it overnight or day trip, and also things like NC Train Hosting which are generally a few hours of round trips to Charlotte or Raleigh.
 
I am not sure about ridership but CAPT sent out an email about the trains running a bit late more than usual as they are working out the kinks in the new round-trip. I believe all the trains make the turn in Charlotte and if the inbound to Charlotte is late then the outbound train is going to have trouble doing all that needs to be done to get it out of the station on time. Even in Raleigh the same train runs later in the day and there can be some issues there. Hopefully this settles down in a few weeks.

I might have that email if we want the breakdown and do not want to do the math yourself. But no promises.
 
NC DOT Rail Division spoke at a recent Salisbury, NC city council meeting. Salisbury was one of the stations dropped as a stop on two Piedmont trains. If you would like to watch the rail discussion of the meeting then start around 1:23:45 and runs for about an hour in total I think. Some good information about the Piedmont trains and possible WNC service from Salisbury to Asheville.

 
John Bobinyec said:
There seems to be a bit of a meltdown going on between Cary and Charlotte today at noon, 8/6/2023. Does anyone know what's going on out there?

Thanks,
jb
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Amtrak says in their Alerts that the delays are due to earlier signal issues between Cary and Durham.
 
jis said:
Service to Winston-Salem may be in the offing:

https://www.wxii12.com/article/wins...assenger-rail-forsyth-county-amtrak/44693955#
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Unfortunately, a near fact free article somewhere between a dream and a hallucination. None of the issues involved in making this happen were even mentioned. Hard to see this city as a point of termination of a train, and if return to a point on through trains to Asheville as it was in the 1960's and earlier would require considerable trackwork to make possible, not to mention the whole train to Asheville issue.
 
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George Harris said:
Unfortunately, a near fact free article somewhere between a dream and a hallucination. None of the issues involved in making this happen were even mentioned. Hard to see this city as a point of termination of a train, and if return to a point on through trains to Asheville as it was in the 1960's and earlier would require considerable trackwork to make possible, not to mention the whole train to Asheville issue.
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Yeah, who knows how this would happen. AFAIK the Ashville connection is supposed to happen from Salisbury. The line that connects Winston-Salem to that line is broken in the middle with little hope of getting it back, as I understand it. Winston-Salem would have to be a short branch from Greensboro area AFAICT.
 
George Harris said:
Unfortunately, a near fact free article somewhere between a dream and a hallucination. None of the issues involved in making this happen were even mentioned. Hard to see this city as a point of termination of a train, and if return to a point on through trains to Asheville as it was in the 1960's and earlier would require considerable trackwork to make possible, not to mention the whole train to Asheville issue.
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I watched this video clip a few days ago and almost posted it here and then had your thoughts. I do think it will happen with the ease they make it seem and even this report mentioned a few years out but this was not some hard-hitting piece of journalism. But if it gets interest brewing then that is OK.

Like any line without passenger rail it would need some work but it is a fairly direct route between Winston-Salem and Greensboro with a decent sized town in the middle and a few folks do travel between for jobs. There is not much freight either. Outside of some rail in more populous Charlotte it seems the best place to give commuter rail a go in NC. Lightly used freight that is a fairly straight shot between to end points. I am not sure the Triangle area of NC has those two check marks as much.

I am just not sure if NS wants to lose total control of the O-M-K-CF-NS line which is a route from Charlotte to Mooresville (O), Mooresvillle to W-S (M) with a bridge out near the end of the M where it meets the K, W-S to Greensboro (K) and Greensboro to Cumnock (CF) and then the NS line from Cumnock to Raleigh. This is a bargaining chip it would seem against the NCRR for rent negotiations. The O-M-K could be used to get from Charlotte at ATO Jct just north of the Amtrak statino and where the NCRR starts back to Greensboro were the NS main line is owned by NS again. And the CF-NS combo of lines can get NS to Raleigh and never use the NCRR if things go south between the NS and the NCRR and by extension the NC state government.

It would take a lot of work to get the O and M and even the NS line back is usable order but there has to be some reason NS keeps these lines around and not turned over to a short line and also not been willing to work with the state of NC on improving the lines to let some passenger rail. The O line in Charlotte seems perfect for some passenger trains development. Some of that is local NIMBY and not wanting certain people in their communities but some seems to clearly be NS now wanting to deal.
 
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jis said:
Yeah, who knows how this would happen. AFAIK the Ashville connection is supposed to happen from Salisbury. The line that connects Winston-Salem to that line is broken in the middle with little hope of getting it back, as I understand it. Winston-Salem would have to be a short branch from Greensboro aN rea AFAICT.
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The broken connection is less than a mile from the wye where the M joins the K in Winston. The K used to run Greensboro-Winston-N Wilkesboro but from Rural Hall to N Wilkesboro is a shortline now. If you find Hanes Dye and Finishing in Winston-Salem on Google Maps you will see just to the west a bridge. This wooden bridge reached end of life 20-25 years ago and the cost of replacement could nor be justified.
In mid June I had a doctor appointment and drove around and took some pictures a few miles south/west of the bridge to the kudzu infested area at the wye. There are a few other bridges near Reynolds High School that are steel and concrete and seem in good shape. I can send you my pics if you like. Regardless of location there is a cost here and that is going to be born by NC state government I am sure and NS has no incentive to do anything to improve the line in this area.
 
McLeansvilleAppFan said:
Greensboro News and Record posted an article on their website weeks ago and finally ran the article in the paper on 5 August. It was front page. PDF of newspaper will be behind paywall, but the article is here (and maybe paywalled also.)

NCDOT eliminates train stops in smaller cities, leaving rider to ask: Whose 'Piedmont' is this?

I wrote an editorial that may or may not be published and I am the reply to the comment on the web article.
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My editorial was published today. Page B5 for those that care of Greensboro News and Record, 10 August 2023.

Regarding the front-page story, "Whose Piedmont is this?" (Aug. 5):

As an avid supporter and rider of Amtrak I have followed the recent developments of the Piedmont trains closely and appreciate the coverage the News & Record has given to the schedule changes.

I also appreciate Professor Ryan Johnson from Elon seeking greener alternatives to automobiles. Johnson must be aware that PART (Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation) buses do run from the Triangle to Burlington and on to Greensboro, and that this is true for High Point riders as well. They can serve as an alternative for those who are losing the early morning and late afternoon Amtrak stops.

The early morning Piedmont train has been around for more than 28 years. In that time none of the three stations have developed ridership to push average passenger counts over about seven, on and off , per stop based on 2022 ridership numbers and most of that ridership is likely on the Carolinian.

On two recent rides I took the total passenger count, on and off , for all three stations combined was less than Greensboro boarding. To save under a minute, tens of millions were spent on the bridge in McLeansville. Money well spent! What would it cost to cut 10 minutes?
And if the planned increase ridership from Raleigh through Greensboro stations does not exceed the lost ridership from the three stations that are losing stops, then those stops need to be restored.

I would encourage Johnson and others who ride Amtrak to join CAPT (the Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains) and the national Rail Passengers Association. Both do great work.
 
John Bobinyec said:
Is there any long-term parking at Greensboro? Where is it? How much does it cost? How many spaces are there? (What's the probability of finding a vacant space?)

jb
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Long term parking is well marked with signage (in my view) and just west of the Amtrak entrance. Starting about a month ago they are back to having you receive a free parking pass to place in your car to be in view. You are also asked to email or phone in your car info to the city. Some folks were using the free parking for downtown visits so they are trying to stop that and keep the parking spots for Amtrak and Greyhound. I assume they will give you a pass for city transit and I have no idea what the model train club is doing. There is enough parking to not worry but you can't just run in and jump on a train now as you need to get the parking pass from a station agent. They generally add a few days in case something happens.

So in order the answers are: Yes, just west of the station entrance, free, not sure of parking spaces count, but there is a sufficient number whenever I am there.
 
John Bobinyec said:
"They generally add a few days in case something happens."

I'm thinking of boarding 20 there to go on a two-week trip. What about the adding a few days?

jb
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They likely will give you a 16 or 17 day pass is my guess at least maybe 18. I think my trip was 5 days and the pass was for 8 days I think back three weeks ago on the 19-20. I went by the station to update my AGR number and was told about the email or phone call and I did that the night before and got the pass the morning of. No reason you can't do it right then and if not near a computer or phone for email at the station I do think a phone number that leads to a voice mail was also an option. Of course pay phones are not around anymore, and that includes the station but most everyone has some sort of mobile phone to make a call. I have no idea if they are truly checking this and towing or only towing if lot is full or if the pass in the in the car is good enough without the phone call.

This is certainly nicer than the cost to park in Raleigh so I am not complaining.
 
North Carolina is eyeing getting Corridor ID related funding to vastly expand service...

SALISBURY, N.C. (WBTV) - A wide expansion of passenger rail service across North Carolina could be on track soon if local leaders have their way.

The North Carolina Mayors Coalition is asking the federal government for millions of transportation dollars to create 12 new passenger train routes, including one from Salisbury to Asheville that would link up with the existing Charlotte to Raleigh route.

The CEO of Amtrak was in Salisbury on Wednesday to meet with local leaders from across the region. Stephen Gardner arrived by train at the Salisbury Depot, along with officials from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

NCDOT and many local municipalities across the state are hoping the federal government will approve a plan to establish 12 new passenger rail routes. Local mayors say it is a critical need.
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https://www.wbtv.com/2023/10/11/sal...ssenger-rail-expansion-across-north-carolina/
 

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