By Justin McGuire
The proposed line would carry riders from Asheville to Salisbury in an average of about 3 1/2 hours, according to the N.C. Department of Transportations’s (NCDOT) 2023 Western North Carolina Passenger Rail Feasibility Study, with projected travel times ranging from three hours and 25 minutes to three hours and 48 minutes; the study projects three daily round trips and ridership of about 100,000 local trips a year by 2045.
“Many people in Western North Carolina need alternatives to long car commutes, especially seniors, students, workers and families managing transportation costs,” says Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, who will be a panelist at the March 18 conference. “Service would connect Asheville residents to jobs, education, medical care and regional destinations without depending solely on highways.”
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