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141 Miles of Rail for Raleigh-Durham Triangle

Posted by: Tim Halbur

10 October 2008 - 12:00pm

A feasibility study released last week shows that a 141 mile transit system could be built on existing right-of-ways in the Triangle for $1 billion, a fraction of the proposed budget for transit in the region through 2035.

"The passenger trains would operate during morning and evening rush hours and could dovetail with another rail system in the Triangle that's under consideration, company officials said.

The state-owned private company owns a rail corridor running from Morehead City on the coast to Charlotte. It commissioned the 11-month-long study to determine the cost and feasibility of running commuter trains on its tracks along with existing freight and long-distance Amtrak passenger trains. Its consultant looked at a system with 29 stops in seven counties and 13 trains.

The next step, railroad officials said, would be for someone to undertake a ridership study to determine demand for the service."

Full Story: Commuter line a 141-mile vision
Source: The News Observer, October 10, 2008
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“
All of that only scratches the surface of what's wrong with this study. The idea that complex urban development patterns and human behavior can be meaningfully studied according to one primary criteria — density — is wrong from the start.
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