Hillsborough could get Amtrak railroad station

The town of Hillsborough is expected to find out by the end of this week whether it will receive state funding for a new railway station.

The town asked the state for about $5.5 million for a train stop along the Amtrak railway, which travels through Durham, Greensboro and Charlotte.

Amtrak trains go through Hillsborough but do not stop there.

North Carolina received $545 million Thursday in federal stimulus money as a part of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor plan. President Barack Obama distributed $8 billion in grants to 13 major rail corridors.

Hillsborough’s portion of the money would be used to improve existing tracks as well as build more tracks and add trains, said Elizabeth Read, director of the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough.

A decision about whether to fund the project should be made by the end of this week, said Allan Paul, director of operations and facilities at the N.C. Department of Transportation, rail division.

The town assembled a Rail Station Task Force in 2008 to make suggestions for possible railway stop locations. Members have set their eyes on a town-owned, 20-acre piece of property near Churton Street.

The parcel would be a good place because it is big enough and the train tracks that run through are straight, said task force member Paul Guthrie. It is not ideal to build a station on a curve, he said.

The changes would make it easier and more efficient for travelers and residents commuting to work. Amtrak also attracts students who travel home to Charlotte via train.

“By building additional tracks, all the current Amtrak trains will go faster,” Read said. “It will both bring additional travelers here, as well as attract more people to live here.”

Travelers will save time by not having to go to the train station in Durham, Read said. With the proposed changes, travelers could go from Hillsborough to Charlotte in about two hours and fifteen minutes. As things are now, a train ride from Durham to Charlotte takes about three hours.

Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, said that many of the tourists and day-trippers from the Triad region are University alumni traveling to sporting events.

The proposed stop would have them get off in Hillsborough, increasing tourism in the area.

Guthrie also expected the population of Hillsborough will double in the next 20 years, increasing the need to improve transportation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hillsborough population in 2008 was 5,653.

If the funding is awarded, the Department of Transportation would enter into a municipal agreement with the town of Hillsborough.



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