S-Line Corridor

The S-Line is an under construction railway corridor in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. The line will be owned by the respective states' transport departments and served by Amtrak, and will provide a more direct service between Richmond and Raleigh when completed. The line is estimated to have served 25 million people by 2040. The track speed will be upgraded to 110 mph (178 km/h) from 79 mph (128 km/h).^[1]

History

The S-Line, seen in orange.

The line was proposed by the Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad in 1882 to the Virginia General Assembly and was granted a charter. The railroad sold the charter to the city of Petersburg and began construction between Petersburg and Ridgeway Junction.^[2] In 1889, the Seaboard Air Line Railway purchased the line and extended it to Richmond. The Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad would be completed by 1900 and would merge with other predecessors into the Seaboard Air Line Railway. The line became the northernmost section of the Seaboard Air Line main line between Richmond and Tampa.^[3]

In 1967, the railroad merged with the Atlantic Coast Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The Seaboard Air Line main line would be known as the S Line. The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad decided to abandon the section of the main line between Centralia and Petersburg and opted for consolidated operations on the former Atlantic Coast Railroad main line known as the "A Line". The section from Raleigh to Norlina would be known as the Norlina Subdivision.^[4]

In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad merged with the Chessie Systems to form CSX Transportation. In 1986, CSX Transportation abandoned the section of the S-Line between Norlina and Petersburg.^[5] CSX continued to own the abandoned right of way between Centralia and Norlina until 2019.

In the 1990s, the federal government designated five high-speed rail corridors under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The S-Line was incorporated as a part of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.^[6]

Construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation in 2015.^[7][1] The Federal Railroad Administration issued a Record of Decision (ROD) in 2017.^[8] In 2020, North Carolina and Virginia agreed to purchase the entire abandoned right of way between Centralia and Norlina for $47.5 million as a condition of a $58 million grant by the FRA Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program.^[9]

In 2021, the FRA provided a $57.9 million grant for a land survey and preliminary engineering from Raleigh to Richmond.^[10] In 2022, a $900,000 grant was provided for a transit-oriented development study near stations along the abandoned line by the FTA Transit Oriented Development. Also in 2022, the United States Department of Transportation would provide a $3.4 million grant for transit centers along the line. In 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration would provide a $1.09 billion grant for the project, as a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.^[11] The North Carolina Department of Transportation would provide another $1.09B grant.^[12]

The Federal Railroad Administration Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail would fund the design and construction for the initial segment of the S-Line, also known as the Norlina Subdivision.^[13] Stations would be built at Wake Forest, Henderson, and Norlina.^[14] The North Carolina Department of Transportation originally envisioned a start date between 2025 and 2029 for this initial phase. On July 1, 2024, Pete Buttigieg, former United States secretary of transportation along with several other state officials participated in the groundbreaking of the project, commencing construction.^[15]