The South Carolina Department of Transportation is updating its comprehensive statewide rail plan and is seeking input from the public and other stakeholders to identify concerns and priorities the plan needs to address.
The most recent of a series of public virtual meetings took place June 26 and involved a briefing on the process of updating the plan. Participants were also invited to share their ideas and concerns, many of which involved questions about increasing passenger rail service in the state.
Rail plan components
The statewide rail plan was last updated in 2020 and encompasses the following goals:
- Assessing current and future conditions of the state’s rail network
- Identifying rail system needs and opportunities
- Engaging the public and other stakeholders on rail issues
- Identifying and prioritizing projects, policies and strategies to support rail-related goals
- Identifying funding sources
The bulk of South Carolina’s rail network consists of 1,939 miles of Class I track owned by Norfolk Southern and CSX, according to David Gray, multimodal planning manager with SCDOT.
He said the remaining 326 miles or 14% of the network is split between the state’s nine short-line rail companies.
Gray explained that with the state’s economic and population growth in the coming decades, rail will play an increasingly important role in the state’s transportation needs.
Public input
During a pause for participant feedback, several people asked about plans for a high-speed rail line through the Upstate connecting Charlotte and Atlanta.
Gray said there had been little movement on the scheme beyond the environmental impact study performed by the Georgia Department of Transportation in 2017. He added it was unclear whether GDOT was still spearheading the effort and forward progress was unlikely until another agency took the lead.
Other comments and questions involved the need to develop an intercity passenger rail network within the state and increasing cargo rail capacity to reduce the number of trucks using the state’s road network.
The window for online public input on the rail plan runs through July 12.
A draft of the updated plan is expected to be complete in August.
For more information, visit scdot.org/travel/freight-rail.aspx.
2024 Rail plan update timeline
- July: Refine vision and goals; develop project lists; identify crossing priorities and needs; compile business/industrial development strategies.
- August: Release draft of final rail plan; solicit public comment on draft.
- October: Rail Advisory Committee meets prior to submitting rial plan to Federal Railroad Administration.
- November: Deploy online commodity flow dashboard, online rail plan story map.
The post SCDOT seeks public input for updated statewide rail plan appeared first on GREENVILLE JOURNAL.