NCDOT celebrating NC By Train anniversaries

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The NC Dept of transportation is celebrating two big anniversaries for their two biggest services.

Today the NC By Train anniversary event will celebrate 35 years of running the Carolinian between Charlotte and New York daily.

They will also celebrate 30 years of Piedmont service, which provides service between Charlotte and Raleigh and seven stops in between.

NC By Train, the state's intercity passenger rail service, has experienced record ridership in the last three years, most recently carrying almost 721,000 passengers in 2024.

Leaders tells us ridership is up 55% since 2019 the year before the pandemic.

They say more and more people are choosing to travel by train which is opening up more opportunities for new destinations.

"So the future is really bright for train travel in North Carolina. We have had a lot of investment both from our our state leaders as well as the US D.O.T. Federal Railroad Administration has selected seven quarters across the state for advancing rail transportation into new communities such as Asheville. Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, Wilmington. Places that don't have them," said Jason Orthner who is the rail division director with NCDOT.

The celebration will be at 11 a.m.