Click here to read an update on the Regional Rail Project and Regional Rail Transit System.

Click here to read the April 2006 survey on Regional Rail in the Triangle (.pdf file).

Background

Federal Planning Process
The Regional Rail Transit System will be funded in part by federal funds. It is expected that the federal government will provide up to 60 percent of the funding. State and local funds will provide the remaining percentage. To receive the federal funds, TTA was required to complete certain steps set forth by federal law. These steps include an Alternatives Analysis, Preliminary Engineering, and Final Design. The Alternatives Analysis was completed in 1996.

In January 1998, TTA, in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), initiated the Preliminary Engineering (PE) phase of project development and started preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Regional Rail Transit System.  The DEIS, which was released in May 2001, was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and all applicable federal rules and regulations. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was approved for publication by the FTA in November 2002 and a Record of Decision was issued in January of 2003.

FEIS Summary
A Summary of the FEIS (PDF Format - 1.86 MB) is posted on this site. Full documents also are also available for review at TTA offices. For general information about the contents of the FEIS, see the text below.

How to Comment on the Project
Although the formal comment period closed July 20, 2001, the public may still comment or ask questions about the project. Please contact Greg Northcutt, Interim Director of Planning & Engineering, at 485-7522 or gnorthcutt@rideTTA.org, with any questions or comments.

What alternatives were in the DEIS?
The DEIS compared the proposed regional rail ("Build") alternative with a No Build Alternative. The No Build Alternative involved no change to transportation service or facilities in the corridor beyond already committed projects. The study also required that the cost-effectiveness of the proposed project be compared with a Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternative. The TSM Alternative consists of low-to-medium cost improvements to the operations of TTA and local bus services in addition to the currently planned transit improvements in the corridor.

The No Build and TSM Alternatives were compared to a baseline single track alternative, a full single track alternative, a two track alternative, and a two track alternative that maximizes opportunities for future high speed passenger rail from Washington D.C. to Charlotte. The TTA Board of Trustees voted in the fall of 2001 to construct a two-track system, which was evaluated in the FEIS.

What impacts were evaluated?
The Phase I Regional Rail PE/EIS study evaluated the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the alternatives. Primary issues included: the projected increase in transit ridership, the locations of the 16 proposed stations, the support of regional land use goals and plans, secondary impacts in station areas, and capital, operating and maintenance costs.

Environmental and social impacts studied included land use and neighborhood impacts, traffic and parking impacts near stations, safety and visual impacts, impacts on cultural resources, and noise and vibration impacts. Impacts on natural areas, rare and endangered species, air and water quality, wetlands and parklands, groundwater and potentially contaminated sites were also assessed.

The impacts were evaluated both for the construction period and for the long-term period of operation. Measures to mitigate any significant adverse impacts were developed during the development of the Final EIS. Community input was sought throughout the process from elected officials, public agencies, stakeholders, and concerned citizens through a public participation program.

What will happen now that the study is complete?
The input collected from the public during the draft statement process was combined with the technical findings to develop the Locally Preferred Alternative. This alternative defined how construction and service implementation would be staged. The initial eastern and western termini were established, and final station locations and a yard-and-shop site were determined. A financial plan, implementation schedule with opening date and mitigation plans were developed. The Locally Preferred Alternative was adopted by the TTA Board.  The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was submitted to FTA for review and approval.

FTA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on January 9, 2003, confirming that the analyses, mitigation, public involvement, and other objectives have been met. Following the issuance of the ROD, the FTA approved TTA's request to enter Final Design on February 28, 2003.

TTA completed the 100% level of design in August 2005. Additional design changes are being evaluated in order to enhance the cost effectiveness of the project. Assuming federal funding in the form of a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) can be obtained by May 2007, construction can start in the summer of 2007 and open for revenue service in December 2009.

Click here for more information on rail vehicles or stations.

For more information on the environmental review process, contact Greg Northcutt, Director of Capital Development, at 485-7522 or gnorthcutt@rideTTA.org.

For more information on project's preliminary and final engineering, contact Greg Northcutt, Director of Capital Development, at 485-7522 or gnorthcutt@rideTTA.org.