Winston-Salem is one of five NC cities that will explore adding new passenger rail routes. The city received $500,000 in grant funding from the US Department of Transportation to start the process.
The city will develop a scope, schedule, and cost estimate of adding a corridor from the Twin City to Raleigh. Stops along the way would include Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, and Cary. Sen. Thom Tillis, who announced the funding this week, said the service would expand frequencies, improve reliability, and complement the existing Piedmont + Carolinian services.
Restoring passenger rail service has been on the radar for local officials for more than a decade. The last train left Union Station on June 15, 1970. The building, which was built in 1926 and is now owned by the city, was restored in 2019. It now houses the city’s transportation department. City leaders have expressed interest in returning rail services to the station.