Richmond to Raleigh: S-Line Corridor Project

Richmond to Raleigh: S-Line Corridor

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Richmond to Raleigh: S-Line Corridor Project

The Richmond to Raleigh (R2R) passenger rail corridor received federal environmental clearance in 2017 for a proposed new passenger rail alignment along the I-85 corridor. The R2R corridor, specifically the abandoned 75 miles of the S-line that VPRA acquired from CSX in November of 2022, is important to enhance and grow intercity passenger rail service in the Southeast. The R2R corridor will connect Virginia Amtrak services with growing services from North Carolina and will cut over an hour of travel between Richmond and Raleigh. When combined with the Long Bridge Project, R2R will better connect Amtrak service in North Carolina and Virginia with Amtrak connections in the Northeast. The project will also provide better connections from Norfolk to points south.

Project Partner

The S-Line corridor, part of the Richmond to Raleigh (R2R) project, is a railroad line on the Southeast Corridor (SEC) that will provide future high-performance passenger rail services connecting communities from Richmond, Virginia to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The S-Line corridor is currently out-of-service but once hosted dozens of daily freight and passenger trains and was a lifeline for its surrounding communities. The corridor is a critical missing link to completing the buildout of the SEC and meeting federal and State goals of improving safety, providing economic opportunities, and equitable, environmentally sound transportation options.

Efforts are underway by VPRA and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to return the S-Line to a functioning passenger rail corridor.

Pictured to the right: S-Line Corridor map

Project Schedule

Project Benefits

Cost and Funding

Project Status: Project development

Reestablishing intercity passenger rail service on the S-Line would provide an additional passenger rail connection from the Southeast Corridor to Washington D.C. and the Northeast Corridor.
The S-Line would provide a direct connection between urban centers
Provide expanded and new passenger rail service to disadvantaged and underserved regions.
Once the R2R program is complete, the service will save over an hour of travel time between the two cities, allow for more frequent and reliable service, and make the trip to Washington D.C. competitive with driving times.

Project Development Budget: $39.5

In 2021, the FRA awarded NCDOT a grant to complete 30% design of the R2R passenger rail corridor.