Spring 2013

In This Issue

Amtrak Numbers Move

Upward

From the Director

Focus on Rail Safety

National Train Day 2013

in NC

Klumac Road Project

New Rail Car

NCDOT Names New

Mechanical Services

Company

Time Warner Features

Amtrak

In Memoriam: Mark

Sullivan

NC Amtrak Numbers Continue Upward Once again, the Piedmont is posting impressive numbers. According to Amtrak

reports, March 2013 saw a 10.3% increase in ridership over March 2012, and a

21.7% increase in revenue over March 2012. The Carolinian numbers are even

more impressive. The Carolinian had a 60.8% increase in ridership in March over

last year, and a 90.1% increase in revenue. N.C. Department of Transportation

(NCDOT) Rail Division Deputy Director Allan Paul says the numbers are even

more exciting given the suspension of Carolinian service for most of March last

year for track work.

For the federal fiscal year (FFY), Piedmont ridership is up 8.6%, and revenue is up

13.7%. For the FFY Carolinian ridership is up 6.3%, and revenue is up 10%. Paul

says not many state -supported services can claim those kinds of numbers. “It’s yet

another good indication of how well we are maximizing revenues, while still grow-

ing ridership on both trains, ” he says.

From the Director: Economic development, job creation and customer service to North Carolinians.

These are the priorities we focus on daily in the NCDOT Rail Divi-

sion. As we work to deliver projects that best serve the needs of

moving goods and people in our state, we apply these values and

priorities whether it be a crossing safety project, building a track

improvement to more efficiently move trains or serve a new or ex-

panding industry, and providing exceptional customer service to

our passengers.

This newsletter, On Track, is about how we strive toward those priorities, working

with our railroad and private industry partners. In the pages that we plan to send out

quarterly, we will cover the latest on news and information as related to our rail pro-

gram and industry partners statewide. Our goal is for it to give you some useful in-

formation you can apply as you work towards your own transportation-related goals

and objectives. I hope you will find it informative enough to pass along, and that

you will provide us feedback so we can serve you better.

Continued on page 5

A rash of railroad incidents since January prompted NCDOT

leaders to collaborate in looking for new ways to communicate

about safety around railroad tracks. The incidents have includ-

ed train-vehicle collisions at crossings and the deaths of some

trespassers on railroad tracks.

In June, NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata and N.C. Department of

Public Safety Secretary Kiernan Shanahan are hosting a Rail

Safety Summit. It will bring the agencies together with com-

munity and law enforcement groups from across the state to

discuss ways to further improve rail safety and help save

lives. It will focus on improving education, distracted drivers

and trespassers on and around railroad tracks.

The Rail Safety Summit will be held June 20 at the Friday Cen-

ter in Chapel Hill. Among the speakers will be Amtrak Police

Chief Polly Hanson.

In early February, Secretary Tata hosted a Rail Safety

Roundtable to open a discussion of the rail safety issue.

Page 2

Focus On Rail Safety and Crossing Safety Blitzes

Governor Pat McCrory has declared May “Rail Safety Awareness Month” in North Carolina and the NCDOT

Rail Division is reaching out to the public in the months ahead to remind travelers to use care at railroad

crossings. These “crossing safety blitzes” target the at-grade crossings areas that have been identified as

among those with the highest train-vehicular collisions in North Carolina.

At a crossing safety blitz, NCDOT workers partner with local law enforcement, CSX Transportation and Nor-

folk Southern freight train operator police and other train safety advocates, such as Operation Lifesaver to put

rail safety facts into the hands of motorists as they approach the railroad crossing. More than 3,300 fact cards

were delivered in Fayetteville and Charlotte during April and May.

Additional blitzes will be held:

June 12 Greensboro Intersections near MacKay Road

July 17 Dunn E. Cumberland Road Street

NCDOT and NCDPS to Lead

Rail Safety Summit

Where:

Burlington Amtrak Station

High Point Amtrak Station

Salisbury Amtrak Station

Kannapolis Amtrak Station

Selma Amtrak Station

Raleigh Amtrak Station

Greensboro Amtrak Station

Charlotte Amtrak Station

Cary Amtrak Station

Durham Amtrak Station

Rocky Mount Amtrak Station

Wilson Amtrak Station

Fayetteville Amtrak Station

Hamlet Historic Hamlet Depot & Museum

Amtrak Hamlet Station

Lexington Freight Depot

Spencer-NC Transportation Museum

Wilmington Railroad Museum

T R A I N S MA T T E R MA Y 1 1 , 2 0 1 3

NC and Amtrak Celebrating National Train Day!

On Saturday, May 11, Amtrak is joining communities across Ameri-

ca, including in North Carolina, to celebrate the importance of trains

to their towns at the sixth annual National Train Day. More than 200

communities are expected to host events at local train stations, rail-

road museums and other locations commemorating this year’s theme

“Trains Matter.”

Amtrak and NCDOT are hosting events (a variety of train displays,

live musical performances, activities for children and more) at every

passenger train station in the state that day.

North Carolina has more than 3,300 miles of railroad tracks used by

passenger and freight trains as important means of transporting people

and goods throughout the state. More than 938,000 passengers each

year currently ride Amtrak trains to and from destinations in North

Carolina among its 500 national destinations and 21,000-mile route

system.

Our state-owned and operated Amtrak Piedmont train service was

number one in the nation in growth within the Amtrak system during

fiscal year 2012.

For more information, visit www.bytrain.org

Page 3

Klumac Road Project

Project Details:

The PIP project has two key parts:

Building a bridge for train traffic over Klumac Road and an underpass for motor vehicle traffic on Klumac

Road at the railroad crossing; and

Realigning 0.6 miles of Klumac Road from N.C. 150 (Main Street) to just south of Martin Luther King

Junior Drive. Crews will shift the road over roughly a block to accommodate the bridge/underpass con-

struction.

Estimated Construction Cost: $10.6 M

Timeframe: Scheduled for completion in May 2016

Page 4

T R A I N S A T T E R

Page 5

T R A I N S A T T E R

New Rail Car Enters Service

The NCDOT Rail Division’s newest rail car has entered the

Piedmont fleet. The Carolina Lily, named for the state wild-

flower, began carrying passengers April 29.

It is the third passenger car to be refurbished through U.S. De-

partment of Transportation grants under the American Recovery

and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) since the state was awarded

$545 million in January 2010. The Carolina Lily seats 56 pas-

sengers.

NCDOT Selects New Mechanical Services Contractor The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded RailPlan International Inc. a multi-year contract to pro-

vide mechanical services for NCDOT’s Amtrak Piedmont trains.

“Our service providers help us maintain our trains and ensure that they are in good condition and are safe and

reliable for our customers,” said NCDOT Rail Division Deputy Director Allan Paul. “We look forward to our

new partnership with RailPlan.”

Those services include: preventive and periodic maintenance on all Piedmont equipment, daily turnaround ser-

vicing on the Piedmont train sets in Charlotte and routine maintenance of the Raleigh Capital Yard facilities

and equipment.

RailPlan will take over services currently provided by Herzog, whose contract ends on May 31. The agreement

with RailPlan is effective June 1, and is for five years with two one-year renewable extensions.

RailPlan International provides a wide variety of products and professional services to the North American

passenger rail market.

Page 6

From the Director Continued from page 1

It is an exciting time in railroads in North Carolina and I say that with some level of perspective as a career

NCDOT employee. Twenty-five years ago, two transformational events happened in the state’s rail transporta-

tion efforts. First, NCDOT purchased the 67-mile Dillsboro-to-Murphy rail corridor to preserve it from aban-

donment and leased it to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. That was the first corridor to be acquired and

preserved by NCDOT. Also, that summer, Governor Jim Martin convened his Rail Passenger Task Force and

set forth a goal of returning passenger rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte. Today, because of that for-

ward thinking, we have preserved more than 158 miles of rail corridors from abandonment, even returning ser-

vice to some of those miles. Also, we have three round trips daily between Raleigh and Charlotte with the Pied-

mont and Carolinian services.

Two things will happen this year to further transform our rail program. First, the Rail Division begins work on

its Strategic Rail Plan, which will be an integral part of Governor Pat McCrory’s 25-Year Transportation Plan.

Second, we will award $197 million worth of projects under the Piedmont Improvement Program between Ra-

leigh and Charlotte to further modernize that corridor.

One has to wonder what we’ll be doing 25 years from now.

In February, we broke ground for the Hopson Road grade separation and the rail siding between Nelson and

Clegg in Wake and Durham counties. Secretary Tony Tata, FRA Administrator Joe Szabo, and Amtrak Presi-

dent Joe Boardman joined us to celebrate this important step forward. A moment I will not forget was hearing

Assistant Resident Engineer Michelle Gaddy explain to Administrator Szabo the phasing approach on construc-

tion of this railroad project. Being a state railroad guy pretty much all my career, it was good to hear the enthu-

siasm in her voice about taking on this new challenge. That has been the experience as we have moved forward

the Piedmont Improvement Program – the development of a truly capable multi-modal engineering and con-

struction industry in North Carolina.

For the first time for the NCDOT, we have private engineering firms and staffs fully design railroads and con-

struction industries build them. This expanded capability will benefit our state for many years as rail projects

are funded and progressed statewide. With this capability will come jobs and an advantage in economic devel-

opment. — Paul Worley

Cable viewers throughout North Carolina can get an idea of what it’s like to ride the Amtrak Piedmont by way

of Time Warner’s “On Demand” service.

The two-minute video features the sights, sounds and experiences of taking a trip on North Carolina intercity

passenger service, which travels between Raleigh and Charlotte, making stops at downtown area stations in

Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury and Kannapolis.

The video also features information on North Carolina’s train hosts, automated ticket kiosks and eticketing.

The spot, located on “On Demand” channel 1084, began airing in February and will run through May 11.

Time Warner Showcases Train Service “On Demand”

Page 7

In Memoriam

Mark B. Sullivan, who was a “founding father of North Carolina’s rail program” passed away Sunday, April

14 after an extended illness. He was 77 years old. His wife Kathy, son Tobias and wife, Nicole of Annapo-

lis, Maryland, survive him.

He was a graduate of Syracuse University and served his country as a 1st Lieutenant in the US Air Force.

Mark touched many lives as a dedicated public servant. He began work in state government in August 1968

as a community planner in the Division of Community Planning in the Departments of Conservation and

Development and Local Affairs. He did important work in several other departments and agencies before

ultimately making his way to us in rail.

In 1986, he joined the NCDOT’s Transportation Planning Division as state rail planner in the rail program.

The rail program became part of the Public Transportation & Rail Division in 1990. Mark became Assistant

Director for Planning shortly after the Rail Division was created in 1993.

Mark was a visionary. In this leadership role, he:

Provided key staff support to the Governor’s Rail Passenger Task Force, creation of the Rail Council,

and the Blue Ribbon NCRR Buyout Committee, who recommended state purchase of the private

shares of the NCRR;

Authored the Rail Corridor Preservation Act of 1989 and other important legislation that shaped the

department's Rail Program;

Was instrumental in initiating DOT's rail corridor preservation program and purchase of rail corridors;

Was instrumental in developing the application to designate the SEHSR in 1992 and the strategy for pre-

serving the S-Line for future use;

Developed DOT's strategic corridor map for future planning;

Initiated DOT's first Tiered Environmental Impact Statement as part of the SEHSR EIS, and;

Conceived the idea for use of the "rail triangle" in down-

town Raleigh for a multi-modal center.

Mark’s steadfast dedication helped make our state a better

place. While he will certainly be missed, he leaves behind a leg-

acy of leadership that will serve North Carolina for generations

to come.

Please remember the family in your thoughts and prayers.—

Paul Worley

Mark Sullivan