What Virginia and North Carolina told Tennessee about funding, freight deals and building capacity

Panelists at the TACIR meeting presented concrete elements states used to expand passenger rail and the steps Tennessee would need to replicate or adapt.

Virginia’s approach: a dedicated funding flow and negotiated capacity projects. Mike McLaughlin of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority said the Commonwealth reorganized funding to create a Commonwealth Rail Fund and committed a multi-source package that amounts to roughly $1,000,000,000 over six years to add capacity and buy corridor segments. He described negotiated agreements with CSX and Norfolk Southern and large projects such as the Long Bridge, which aim to separate passenger and freight operations and improve on-time performance.

North Carolina’s approach: state-supported operations, project delivery and targeted grant wins. Julie White of NCDOT described a long-running state program that supports the Piedmont and Carolinian services with roughly $9,000,000 a year in state appropriation. She stressed preparing corridors, buying and refurbishing equipment, and winning competitive federal grants — citing the Piedmont Improvement Program funded in part with $500,000,000 of federal support — and transit-oriented development work that positions local towns for station-area growth.

Negotiating with freight railroads was a common theme. Both McLaughlin and White said deals with Class I railroads required time and trust: McLaughlin described presenting “win–win” timetables and jointly agreed infrastructure projects so passenger additions do not impede freight flows. McLaughlin also said large capacity projects are phased so additional trains are matched with completed infrastructure.

Federal programs and Amtrak’s role. Nicole Busich of Amtrak emphasized the FRA Corridor ID program as the immediate planning opportunity for Tennessee; she said the seed grant is $500,000 with no local match and the program leads into service-development planning, preliminary engineering and NEPA stages. She also summarized how Amtrak’s Section 209 cost-allocation framework and R&E grants can reduce early operating subsidy needs for inner-city services.

What Tennessee was told to do next. TDOT and TACIR staff have submitted an expression of interest to FRA. Panelists urged the commission and TDOT to apply for Corridor ID funding, stand up a planning team funded by the seed grant, pursue service-development plans and then prioritize capital grants. Amtrak offered to supply ridership modeling and route fact sheets to inform subsidy estimates and service design.

The meeting produced no vote or binding commitment; it produced a clear procedural path: use Corridor ID seed funding to advance planning, negotiate capacity projects with freight railroads where needed, and identify stable state funding sources before committing to recurring operating subsidies.