No longer a 'distant dream,' Asheville vies for return of passenger rail services to WNC

ASHEVILLE - Bringing back passenger rail service to Asheville is not a new pursuit, but it's one that has dragged for decades, nearly since the city's passenger rails were discontinued in 1975. On a map, Western North Carolina is a dead zone for intercity passenger lines. The nearest Amtrak station is over an hour drive to South Carolina, in Greenville or Spartanburg.

Now, a $66 billion pool of federal funds, part of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill, means new hope for efforts to reconnect Asheville to Amtrak lines south and east of the city, and a Sept. 20 meeting of Rail Response, a project of the N.C. Metro Mayor Coalition, offered a closer look at resources needed to compete for intercity rail funding.

At that meeting, held in the second story conference room of the DoubleTree Hotel, looking north into Montford, the refrain was clear: Asheville has never been better positioned to bring back passenger rail services than it is now.

“A return to passenger rail service in Asheville, connecting the city to routes across the state and the Eastern Seaboard, is not just a distant dream anymore,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer. With the passage of the bill, Manheimer said the city has a "real opportunity" to expand the state's access to intercity passenger rail, bringing Asheville back into the network.

The "will" has always been there, she said. But now there's a possible way forward.

“This (is an) opportunity we’ve never had in the history of rail," said Julie White, N.C. Department of Transportation's deputy secretary for multimodal transportation.

Efforts to grow the state's intercity passenger rail service has been underway for a long time, though movement has been "incremental," said Jason Orthner. As director of NCDOT's Rail Division, his team is key in vying for the federal dollars.

“The main thing that is influencing our timeline, as the mayor mentioned, is that there is tremendous federal money now that has never existed in rail up until the bipartisan infrastructure law,” he said.

Will Asheville be selected?

Of the $66 billion in federal funds, $44 billion will be distributed through the Federal Railroad Administration’s discretionary grant program, the Corridor Identification and Development Program, intended to create a pipeline of rail projects ready for implementation.

In March, NCDOT put forward a Salisbury to Asheville line for federal consideration as part of 12 proposed routes.

The 139-mile route would run between Asheville and Salisbury, connecting it to several large North Carolina cities, as well as routes to the north and southeast. It carries a $665 million price tag, with an estimated annual operating cost of $7.3 million to $10.9 million.

Though there is no guarantee, Orthner said Asheville is "well-positioned" for selection by the Federal Railroad Association.

Amtrak added Asheville to its Connects US initiative in 2021, including Asheville among more than 30 new routes proposed between 2020-2035.

Orthner said Asheville is a "competitive" corridor due to its ties into the existing system, its ability to connect rural and urban areas, particularly those currently without service, and an opportunity to utilize existing rail lines.

It is also among "one of our most requested destinations," Orthner said, similar to Wilmington, which has long explored the return of passenger rail back since it ran its last passenger train in 1968.

Selections will be announced in November or December.

Orthner said he would find it "unusual" if Asheville's proposal was not selected, but regardless, “one thing you’ll find is the Department of Transportation is committed to continuing to work with communities and find ways to continue to advance the conversation."

Earlier in September, the Citizen Times reported that a draft of the 2023 Western North Carolina Passenger Rail Feasibility Study saw a positive response from local governments and rail corporations. A final feasibility study will be published in early to mid-November.

If selected, what comes next?

Each selected corridor will be awarded an initial $500,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration to begin development efforts, service and corridor planning.

From there, said White, a 90/10 match would be available for design and engineering — meaning 90% would be federally funded, with the remaining 10% to be supplied from state and/or local funds. In the construction phase, the project would be eligible for up to 80% federal funding, with the other 20% to be sought from the state.

It's what she called a "once in a lifetime opportunity to get this network that you all have been talking about ... for a long time."

More: Opinion: Asheville has a chance to bring back Amtrak passenger train system

More: Asheville passenger rail line plan sees positive responses from WNC Rail Committee

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Will passenger rail service return to Asheville and WNC?