The North Carolina General Assembly decided not to provide $28 million in funding for an Asheville-to-Salisbury passenger rail line.
Despite the setback, rail advocates said they’re hopeful they’ll be able to secure the funding next year.
Gov. Josh Stein had asked for the money in his budget request back in April. But the version approved by the General Assembly this month — and signed into law by the governor — ultimately didn’t include it.
The funding would have provided part of a total $133 million state match needed to unlock federal funding for the rail line, which would bring passenger service back to western North Carolina for the first time since 1975.
Martin Wheeler, president of the Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains, said that some state legislators didn’t want to commit the money until a hold-up at the Federal Railroad Administration is resolved.
“A number of other states are being affected by the delay which may last another six to nine months,” Wheeler, who is based in Charlotte, said in an email to members last week. “Support for rail passenger service is strong in the General Assembly so chances are good state dollars may flow when federal funds are released.”
Other supporters of the long-anticipated project echo the notion that it’s merely postponed, not doomed.
Ray Rapp, co-chair of the Western North Carolina Rail Committee, said budget writers in the legislature have urged rail advocates to “stay in line for the next regular appropriation cycle.”
“While the appropriation was not included in the current budget, we have been encouraged to submit a request in the next one and to encourage local governments to plan for contributing to the local/state match,” Rapp said Tuesday in an email to BPR.
The price tag for the project is $665 million. The federal government is expected to provide 80% of that total, with state and local governments covering the rest.
Proponents of the project have been seeking to build momentum at the state and local level in recent months, including at a rail conference in Morganton in the spring.
Rapp said the WNC Rail Committee plans to host an event in Asheville this winter where they will provide a “major update” from North Carolina Department of Transportation officials on the project’s status.
