Study to put Durham-Wake commuter rail closer to ‘go or no go.’ But not all on board.

The Durham County commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to spend more than $2 million to study a commuter rail line that could potentially run between Durham and Johnston counties.

GoTriangle, the sponsor for the Greater Triangle Commuter Rail project, also will be asking Wake County for $6 million for the study and Johnston County and the N.C. Railroad Company for $250,000 each. The $2.2 million Durham voted to contribute will come from the Durham Transit Tax Fund, fed mostly by a local half-cent sales tax.

The project would use an existing rail corridor owned by NCRR and would run trains between northwest Durham and Clayton, with stops in the Wake municipalities of Raleigh, Morrisville, Cary and Garner. A stop is also planned at Research Triangle Park.

Preliminary estimates by GoTriangle show the project would cost $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion to build. GoTriangle envisions the project resulting in 20 round trips per day carrying 7,500 to 10,000 passengers daily.

Backers plan to apply for federal grants to fund as much as half of the project.

GoTriangle says at least 34 miles of new tracks would be needed in the corridor for commuter trains, because the existing tracks are heavily used by Amtrak and freight trains, The News & Observer has reported. About 27 trains pass through the busiest stretch of the corridor, between Raleigh and Cary, each day.

‘A go or no go decision’ coming

The feasibility study is expected to look more closely at both the Durham-Clayton route and a Durham-Garner route, each with 20 roundtrips, GoTriangle spokeswoman Burgetta Wheeler said by email Tuesday.

The Durham-Clayton route, however, will require that Johnston County vote to participate, and that vote won’t happen until April, Wheeler said.

Durham County Commissioner Ellen Reckhow described the commissioners’ decision Monday to move ahead with planning as the second step on a ladder that will determine whether to continue with the process.

“It will be after this study that we really will have enough information to make a go or no go decision,” said Reckhow, who is also a member of the GoTriangle board of trustees.

Commissioners also voted unanimously to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the other project management partners: Wake and Johnston counties, NCRR, GoTriangle, the N.C. Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization to express the roles, responsibilities and cost share of the next phase of the project.

Commissioner Heidi Carter expressed concern that the city of Durham was not included in the process.

Board Chairwoman Wendy Jacobs said she has told Durham Mayor Steve Schewel that municipalities where trains would stop would become more involved in the next phase of development.

GoTriangle abandoned plans to develop an 18-mile light-rail project between Chapel Hill and Durham last March, in part because Duke University and the NCRR balked at providing needed right-of-way.

“That’s why you have this extensive (memorandum of understanding),” Reckhow said. “We didn’t have this at the start of the light-rail project. We’re being much more deliberate.”

Project opponents speak

Several members of the public spoke against the project Monday.

“You’re going to try to provide a mode of transportation at the expense of the taxpayers of Durham that benefits non-taxpayers that work in Durham but live other places,” said Jackie Wagstaff, a former Durham City Council member.

Antonio Jones, a former candidate for the Durham school board, wondered why the project didn’t include an airport stop.

Victoria Peterson, a former candidate for City Council, said the project would hurt the black community as it travels noisily through predominantly African-American neighborhoods. She also urged backers to schedule community meetings before continuing.

“I heard the questions,” Commissioner Brenda Howerton said. “I understand the uneasiness around this because of the lack of information.”

Reckhow also said she was glad to hear from the community.

“What we’re still doing is determining if this project will benefit Durham,” she said. “I appreciate the concerns. I have concerns. But I think this next step will answer that.”

Staff writer Richard Stradling contributed to this story.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 2:29 PM.