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NC passenger rail ridership reaches all-time high

September was a record-breaking month for the state’s intercity passenger rail service.

Over 48,000 passengers rode the Carolinian and Piedmont trains last month. That marks a 32 percent increase over the average pre-pandemic monthly ridership levels from 2014 to 2019.

Amtrak operates the lines as part of the NC By Train network, which runs between Raleigh and Charlotte, and also connects the two cities with New York. 

Governor Roy Cooper praised the high numbers and urged continued investment in passenger rail service.

North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette noted the trains are an affordable option for traveling across the Piedmont.

NC By Train offers special stops for events such as the Lexington Barbecue Festival and the North Carolina State Fair.

NCDOT is also planning future expansion along a rail corridor between Raleigh and Richmond, Virginia, which officials say will better connect local communities and shorten travel time to the Northeast.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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