Rail
Public Notice: Apex Rail Yard Relocation/Durham Spur Upgrade StudyPublic Comment Period: July 20 to August 18, 2026
CAMPO is currently considering endorsement of a study examining the relocation of the rail switching operations in Downtown Apex by upgrading the Apex to Durham rail to a Class 2 Freight Rail. Comments may be submitted via: |
With several rail corridors traversing the region, the MPO must work closely with the railroad operators, the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) and NCDOT's Rail Division to ensure the railroad lines are being protected and planned to efficiently utilize the capacity available for freight and passengers alike and to ensure that the interaction between rail facilities and other modes is managed to optimize efficient operation for all facilities.
Apex Rail Yard Relocation/Durham Spur Upgrade Study
CAMPO and the Town of Apex began a study in 2024 to look at the feasibility and future site for moving the existing rail operations out of the Town's growing downtown. During this study it was determined in coordination with CSX, the owner/operator of the rail yard, that due to limitation of shift lengths it was not feasible to move the rail yard while still serving customers along the Durham to Apex rail line. In order to circumnavigate this barrier it was necessary to look at what it would take to upgrade the Durham to Apex rail to a Class 2 Freight Line from its current Class 1 status. This upgrade would increase the speeds on the route to 25mph, allowing the rail yard operations to move out of the Town. CAMPO amended the scope of the study in 2025 to reflect this change in direction and in June 2026 the selected consultant finished the work examining the feasibility and cost for this work as well as examining appropriate funding avenues to achieve the Town's goal.
Strategic Regional Rail Infrastructure Investment Study (2024)
CAMPO and its sister agency in the Durham area, the Durham Chapel Hill Carborro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO), have launched a joint study to investigate how to strategically approach increasing regional passenger and freight rail in the Triangle region. With the Southeast High Speed Rail project from Raleigh to Richmond starting construction on the first phase from Raleigh to Wake Forest and the recent announcement of the $105 million CRISI grant for rail improvements on the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR) and the Norfolk Southern (NS) routes there is a great deal of interest in expanding rail. This project aims to develop a review of all current and potential future projects that will support furture passenger rail improvements. Among this projects goals is to match projects with potential federal, state and local funding sources and develop a critial path necessary to get improved regional passenger/frieght rail.
- Project Scope
- Rail Visioning Committee (RVC) Meeting 12/6/2024 Presentation
- Project Final Deliverables
- Project Universe Matrix
Fayetteville-Raleigh Passenger Rail Study (2020)
This, recently completed, study was conducted by the Fayetteville Area MPO and the Capital Area MPO in cooperation with the NCDOT Rail Division. The purpose was to help define and determine the feasibility of passenger rail service between Fayetteville and Raleigh, N.C. Many of the rail corridors in the region have been studied in the last several years to identify a variety of safety and capacity improvements for both freight and passenger rail. As the region continues to grow the need to maximize the use of transportation corridors continues to expand. Other partnering agencies include county and municipal governments; councils of government/rural planning organizations; NCDOT Planning Division; and operators of existing passenger and freight services in the two study corridors (NCRR, CSX, NS). It was a high-level look at operational concerns for two routes, included passenger and revenue forecasting, and was a preliminary determination of feasibility and necessary next steps. A follow-on study could examine the specifics of rail service and station characteristics at a later date.
Raleigh-Cary Rail Crossing Study (2016)
The Raleigh-Cary Rail Crossing Study was conducted through a partnership of CAMPO, the City of Raleigh, Town of Cary, NCDOT, GoTriangle, North Carolina Railroad Company, and Norfolk Southern Railroad. This study examined the operational and safety performance of road/rail crossings between downtown Cary and NC State University. From this study, a range of alternatives were developed to improve a set of identified at-grade road/rail crossings along the rail corridor.
NCDOT Statewide Rail Plan (2015)
Regional Rail Service
NCDOT also runs rail service through the region. The Raleigh-to-Charlotte route, the Piedmont, has a specific improvement program, including improvements in our region.
There is also a Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) compact that includes a number of states. For CAMPO, there are two segments of interest: Raleigh-to-Charlotte and Raleigh-to-Richmond.