The S-Line Raleigh, N.C.-to-Richmond, Va. (R2R), passenger rail project has reached a construction milestone, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) reported June 25.
🚦Safety is non-negotiable 🚧 In North Carolina, $65 MILLION is going to North Carolina to accelerate key construction and safety work along the Raleigh-to-Richmond corridor 🛤️🚗⁰⁰AMERICA IS BUILDING AGAIN @[email protected]/QSKEPFCAxU
— U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) June 25, 2026
NCDOT, including Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation Julie White and Rail Division Director Jason Orthner, hosted FRA Deputy Administrator Drew Feeley and other transportation leaders to celebrate progress on the Durant Road grade separation: the placement of girders that will support a future bridge over CSX-owned tracks in North Raleigh. Construction kicked off in 2024.
“By separating roadway and rail traffic, the project will improve safety for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and train operations while allowing uninterrupted travel along Durant Road without delays from passing trains,” NCDOT reported. “The FRA also announced $65 million in Federal-State Partnership funding for the larger S-Line R2R project, which will provide an improved passenger rail connection between North Carolina and Virginia.”
This week, we hosted the @USDOTFRA at the bridge being built to carry Durant Road over the railroad tracks near Capital Boulevard.Plus:🚔 4th of July travel – Drunk driving crackdowns and construction pauses🇺🇸 @America250NC Freedom Festival🏒 @Canes Highway#NCDOTNowpic.twitter.com/mm11znxGDL
— NCDOT (@NCDOT) June 26, 2026
The multi-phased R2R project is slated to develop a new passenger rail route along CSX’s S-Line, which connects Richmond to Tampa, Fla. Among its components: completion of final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction activities to build additional parts of the Southeast Corridor from Raleigh to Wake Forest, N.C., including new and upgraded track, 11 grade separations, and closure of multiple at-grade crossings. NCDOT is the program lead and is working with Amtrak and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority…