USDOT Funds $35.8 Million for Western North Carolina Rail

By James Calloway

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the N.C. Department of Transportation $35.8 million, approximately $36 million, for development, final design and construction tied to reconnecting western North Carolina by rail.

State Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson said: “We are thankful for our federal partners at FRA for the funding of a project that will improve safety and ultimately expand transportation solutions for the people of North Carolina.” He added: “These investments reflect the strength of our partnership and our state’s record of turning rail funding into progress.”

What does the $35.8 million cover?

The award supports four stated workstreams:

• Project development.
• Final design.
• Construction.
• Activities supporting the upgrade of more than 40 highway-rail crossing signal systems between Salisbury and Hickory.

The signal work calls for replacing or upgrading existing infrastructure, with the stated aim of creating safer crossings for vehicles and pedestrians. The announcement ties this work to safety rather than to added train capacity.

The announcement does not divide the $35.8 million among the four items or identify a separate amount for the signals. It gives no installation schedule, equipment standard, procurement method, construction contractor or supplier.

It also makes no claim about a capacity increase, service-frequency gain or operating-cost reduction from the crossing work. For NCDOT, the immediate measurable commitments are the federal award and a count of systems in scope; delivery and safety performance remain to come.

Who is funding and delivering the work?

USDOT is the announced awarder, and FRA is the federal partner Johnson credits with providing funding. NCDOT is the recipient and delivery agency; its Rail Division is working with communities, and the Salisbury-Asheville service would run via NC By Train.

The announcement names no train operator, equipment supplier or construction contractor. Until those parties and plans are disclosed, any claim about fleet availability, operating cost or timing lacks an operator plan or contract against which to test it.

Johnson’s statement links the award to two outcomes: safer crossings and broader transportation choices. The first rests on installing and commissioning the signal work; the second depends on completing the corridor and putting scheduled Salisbury-Asheville service into operation. The announcement documents committed federal money, not either completed result.

What service is under consideration?

NCDOT’s Rail Division is working with North Carolina communities to provide rail service via NC By Train from Salisbury to Asheville. The announcement does not identify those communities.

Western North Carolina lost passenger rail service in 1975. NCDOT’s proposed route would restore a rail link between Salisbury and Asheville, subject to the availability of the crossing, design and construction program funded by the award.

A 2025 NCDOT study concluded that restoring passenger rail service for western North Carolina would benefit the area’s economy, job opportunities and public transit, as well as the state. That finding describes expected benefits, not measured outcomes from an operating service.

The announcement provides no ridership forecast, travel time, fare, train frequency, annual operating cost or capital-cost estimate. It also gives no target opening date. Those omissions matter because a federal grant can finance development, design and construction without establishing a viable daily service.

How would the corridor change North Carolina’s rail network?

When NCDOT completes the western North Carolina corridor, the agency says it will connect to the Charlotte region, the Piedmont and the Triangle. That would broaden the reach of the proposed Salisbury-Asheville service beyond western North Carolina.

The state has not set out how many daily trips the service would run, which intermediate stations it would serve or how long a Salisbury-Asheville journey would take. It also provides no fleet plan or operator performance targets. For passengers, those omissions prevent a reliable assessment of capacity, cost or journey time.

The next checkpoint is whether NCDOT converts the $35.8 million award into a dated signal program and a costed operating plan. Until then, the award and the 40-plus-system scope are documented, while restored service, its benefits and its network reach remain conditional.