The N.C. Department of Transportation says its new midday trains between Raleigh and Charlotte -- popular rides since they were added to the daily Amtrak schedule in June -- will be reduced to three days a week for a 10-week period starting next month, while Norfolk Southern Railway makes improvements to tracks, bridges and signals.
The trains leave Raleigh heading south at 11:50 a.m., and Charlotte heading north at 12:30 p.m., seven days a week, making seven stops along the way. The midday trains will be canceled Monday through Thursday from Feb. 14 through April 21. The Friday-Saturday-Sunday midday trains will continue, along with the daily morning and afternooon trains between Raleigh and Charlotte.
The new schedule is available below or at www.bytrain.org.
Four other trains that leave Raleigh and Charlotte in the early morning and late afternoon will continue their daily runs, but with changed schedules. Amtrak will add 10 to 20 minutes to the travel times for all trains between Raleigh and Charlotte, because the construction will require slower train speeds.
Norfolk Southern will do the work on Mondays through Thursdays. The result will be smoother travel and improved on-time reliability, NCDOT said.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter, editor and blogger since 1976, he took over the