News

Blue Ridge Southern Railroad receives $4.5 million grant

By Lightning Reports, Published: August 6, 2021

RALEIGH – Blue Ridge Southern Rairoad is among 12 short line railroads that will soon be making improvements to their rail infrastructure thanks to approximately $10.2 million in matching grant funds being awarded as part of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program, the DOT announced.

FRRCSI supports rail infrastructure health, safety and performance throughout the state, enabling NCDOT to partner with rail companies on improvement projects to move freight more effectively. This partnership helps railroads meet customer needs efficiently and in cost-effective ways while preparing them for growing service demands and partnerships with new businesses and industries.

The grant funds contribute to nearly $20.4 million in rail infrastructure improvements statewide. Blue Ridge Southern Railroad received $4.5 million for four projects to upgrade track, railroad crossings and bridges in Haywood, Buncombe, Henderson and Jackson counties

Other grants went to:

• Aberdeen and Rockfish $390,000 for a project to modernize rail bridges in Cumberland County
• Alexander Railroad Company $750,000 for two projects to improve track, railroad crossings and expand truck/rail transload operations in Alexander County
• Atlantic and Western Railway $430,000 for a project to upgrade track and switches in Lee County
• Carolina Coastal Railway $2,196,000 for a project to increase low train speeds by improving bridges and track in Wake, Nash, Johnston, Wilson, Greene, Pitt, Beaufort, Washington and Martin counties
• Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad $1,865,000 for two projects to upgrade railroad track and improve bridges in Currituck and Camden counties, and construct a transload facility with upgraded turnouts in Pasquotank County
• Great Smoky Mountains Railroad $1,922,000 for a project to upgrade railroad track and bridges, and raise the track bed to prevent washouts in Jackson and Swain counties
• Laurinburg and Southern Railroad $1,000,000 to improve track and switches in Scotland County
• North Carolina and Virginia Railroad $747,000 for upgrades to siding tracks in Bertie and Northampton counties
• North Carolina State Ports Authority $1,411,000 for two projects to provide rail upgrades and install radiation scanners necessary for transporting intermodal containers via rail at the Port of Wilmington in New Hanover County
• RJ Corman Railroad Company $2,484,000 to upgrade crossings and track in Columbus County, NC and Horry County, SC
• Wilmington Terminal Railroad $1,191,000 to upgrade track in New Hanover County
• Yadkin Valley Railroad $1,500,000 to upgrade track, switches and bridges in Forsyth, Stokes, Surry and Wilkes counties

The Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Program was established in 2013 by the N.C. General Assembly.