US/NC/Durham/rail/commuter

Template:US Town Article: Commuter Rail

Overview

Plans for commuter rail involving Durham have been officially in the planning stage since the mid-1990s, and have been discussed widely at least since the 1980s¹. As of this writing, the initial rail line is ready to begin construction once funding is obtained, but the funding proposal to the FTA in 2005 was turned down. (One theory² for why it was turned down is that the Triangle area doesn't fit into the classic hub-and-spokes model that the FTA is accustomed to evaluating; another theory is that the FTA's evaluation methods make the odd assumption that the rail line will not affect patterns of growth in the area, which leads to severely lowered estimates of eventual ridership.) Proponents are currently regrouping.

The proposed plan involved an initial rail line apparently running from two stops in downtown Durham, skirting RTP, through Cary, to two stops in Raleigh. Extensions would be built later to run the line out to Duke and three further stops in Raleigh. A secondary line was also tentatively planned (but not part of the 2005 FTA funding request) running from Durham to Chapel Hill along or near 15-501.¹

In the absence of approval from the FTA, at least one suggestion² has been floated to start with the Durham-to-Chapel-Hill line, since most of the push for commuter rail seems to be coming from those two areas; the argument is that this would be easier and cheaper in some ways than the original Durham-to-Raleigh plan, might actually provide more bang for the buck, and in any case will get the ball rolling again.

References

1. Mystery train: "Ten questions for TTA – and at least some of the answers"
2. Who Needs Raleigh? by Bob Geary

News

• 2005-12-07 Backtalk "The air up there" letter by Chuck Till on another issue criticizes the rail plan in passing
• 2005-10-19 Citizen by Bob Geary: largely about other local issues, but mentions that the revised plan was accepted as valid by the FTA
• 2005-08-31
  • Mystery train by Bob Geary
  • Transit by the numbers
• 2005-08-24 Citizen, Planners muscle up: update on rail proposal
• 2003-10-08 Burtman, One-way track: status of the debate
• 2003-05-07 Triangles, Walk this way by Peter Eichenberger: argument against the commuter rail plan
• 2002-03-13 Basic Training (cover story by Bob Geary): more details about the plan and its philosophy