Status Active Distance travelled 173 miles (278 km) Service frequency Twice daily Locale North Carolina Stops 7 | Average journey time 3 hrs, 10 mins First service 26 May 1995 | |
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Ridership 466 daily170,266 total (FY13) | ||
The Piedmont or Piedmont Service is a twice-daily passenger train operated by Amtrak and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) between Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. Operation began in May 1995. North Carolina owns the rolling stock used on the Piedmont, unlike the Carolinian which uses Amtrak rolling stock.
Contents
History
North Carolina developed the Piedmont as a follow-on to the successful Carolinian, which had entered service in early 1990. Officials sought to add a second daily round-trip between Charlotte and Raleigh. In the fall of 1990, the board of transportation approved the acquisition of five used passenger cars and the leasing of two diesel locomotives. The board planned to have the second train enter service by early 1992.
The Piedmont (as the train came to be called) faced numerous delays. Norfolk Southern, which leased the track, insisted that the state construct a wye in Charlotte for turning the two trains around. At the time, the Carolinian had continued 10 miles (16 km) south to Pineville and turned around there. In 1993, the cost of the wye plus land purchase was estimated at $200,000; by late 1994, this grew to $695,000, plus $1.5 million for a maintenance facility in Raleigh. The Piedmont finally began operating on May 26, 1995.
After delays in refurbishing the motive power and passenger cars, an additional Piedmont began operating on June 5, 2010 With the addition of the second train, Amtrak rebranded the route Piedmont Service to reflect the multiple daily frequencies.
On March 22, 2011, it was announced that an agreement between NCDOT, Amtrak, Norfolk Southern and the North Carolina Railroad had been reached that would allow for $461 million in grants from the federal government to be used in upgrading infrastructure. The money would be used to add additional double track and passing sidings, as well as reducing curves, resulting in a 13-minute reduction in travel time. Improvements, and the new Raleigh station, are scheduled to be completed by 2017, and two new daily trains will be added to the route.
Accidents and incidents
On May 13, 2010, a westbound Piedmont collided with a lowboy tractor-trailer that was stuck on the tracks in Mebane, North Carolina, with 13 people injured.
Route details
The Piedmont operates over North Carolina Railroad (leased to Norfolk Southern Railway) trackage:
Rolling stock
The motive power for the Piedmont has been provided by eight state-owned locomotives. Two are EMD F59PHIs, numbered 1755 (City of Salisbury) and 1797 (City of Asheville). Five are EMD F59PHs, numbered 1810 (City of Greensboro), 1859 (City of High Point), 1869 (City of Durham), 1893 (City of Burlington), and 1984 (City of Kannapolis) also a new cab control unit 102. NCDOT's current F59PHs were originally used by GO Transit of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and rebuilt by American Motive Power and Altoona Works. One more additional EMD F59PH, 1871 (Town of Cary), along with the one more of the five converted Cab Control Units are scheduled to be rebuilt by Altoona Works and delivered to the NCDOT for use on additional frequencies in early 2017.
NCDOT formerly operated 2 GP40PH-2's rebuilt by AMF. 1768 (City of Charlotte), originally B&O GP40 4008, was sold to the Virginia Railway Express and became VRE V24. 1792 (City of Raleigh), originally L&N GP40 3006, was wrecked in the Mebane accident. Everything except the EMD 645 engine, bell and horn were scrapped. Locomotives from Amtrak's national fleet, such as the GE P42DC, may also be used.
State-owned passenger cars on the Piedmont are refurbished coach cars originally built by Pullman-Standard and the St. Louis Car Company in the 1960s for the Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific. There are four lounge/baggage cars and one coach/baggage car originally built by the St. Louis Car Company in the 1950s and used by the United States Army.
All rolling stock has been painted in special North Carolina livery (different from the national Amtrak livery). The color scheme, of blue and silver with red accents, was based on the North Carolina flag.
Finances
During fiscal year (FY) 2015, the Piedmont carried a total of 161,487 passengers, a 5.2% decrease from FY 2014's total of 170,413 passengers. The train had a total revenue of $3,304,601 during FY 2015, a drop of 2.9% below FY 2014's revenue of $3,402,929.