Washington, DC – Raleigh – Charlotte – Atlanta (SEHSR)

Federal Railroad Administration

Multiple studies and upgrades are underway, along with 

an examination of new regional governance models, that 

will unite several southeastern corridor segments into a 

high-performance network from Washington to Atlanta. 

After decades of planning and incremental investment, FRA 

and the southeastern states are investing nearly $800 

million in the SEHSR Corridor to improve and expand 

existing passenger rail service south of Washington. $630 

million improves service between Raleigh and Charlotte 

with 4 daily frequencies, highway-rail grade crossing safety 

improvements, and new and modern stations. $90 million 

improves reliability for over 40 passenger and freight trains 

that operate south of Washington each day. These 

investments support future increases in speed to 90 mph 

and installation of electrical power when feasible. The 

remaining funding advances planning and engineering for 

future investments to expand and improve performance 

and governance of the Washington to Atlanta rail network.

Hopson Road grade separation was recently completed 

along the SEHSR Corridor in Durham, NC.

Corridor 

Characteristics

(Washington-Atlanta)

Length States Population

730 miles DC, VA, NC,

SC, GA 20 million

Arkendale-Powell’s 

Creek Third Track

$75 million (HSIPR)

Atlanta-Charlotte 

Tier-I EIS

$4 million (HSIPR)

Raleigh Union Station 

Phase I (Piedmont)

$38 million (TIGER)

Richmond-Hampton Roads

Tier-I EIS Complete

Richmond-Raleigh

Tier-II EIS/PE

$4 million (HSIPR)

Washington-Richmond

Tier-II EIS/PE

$44 million (HSIPR)

Washington, DC

Long Bridge PE/NEPA

$6 million (HSIPR/TIGER)

Lexington Multimodal 

Station Area Plan

$1 million (TIGER)

Raleigh-Charlotte

3

rd and 4th Frequencies

$520 million (HSIPR)

Charlotte Gateway Station

$25 million (TIGER)

Estimate: $150 million

Congestion Mitigation

CSX A-Line/S-Line

$27 million (HSIPR)
Federal Railroad Administration

Washington, DC – Raleigh – Charlotte – Atlanta (SEHSR)

Ridership On-Time Pct.

+74% ridership

-2% on-time

Since 2005

Ridership, FY05:

265,269

Ridership, FY15:

460,460

OTP, FY05:

62.3%

OTP, FY15:

60.1%

Corridor Performance

FY05 FY10 FY15

Corridor Projects Program Fiscal Year Year Complete Completion Status Federal Non-Federal Total

(FY09-Present, $M)

Corridor-wide Investments

Richmond-Washington, DC Corridor PE/NEPA HSIPR 2010 2017 Planning/Design Underway $44.3 $11.1 $55.4 

Richmond-Raleigh Corridor PE/NEPA HSIPR 2009 2016 Planning/Design Underway $4 $3.8 $7.8 

Atlanta-Charlotte Corridor Investment Plan HSIPR 2010 2017 Planning/Design Underway $4.1 $1 $5.1 

Targeted Investments

Long Bridge HSIPR & TIGER 2009 & 2014 2016 & 2017 Planning/Design Underway $5.7 $0 $5.7 

Arkendale-Powell's Creek Third Track HSIPR 2009 2016 Construction Underway $74.8 $0 $74.8 

North Carolina Congestion Mitigation HSIPR 2009 2017 Construction Underway $26.6 $0 $26.6 

Raleigh Union Station Phase I and IB TIGER 2012 & 2013 2017 Planning/Design Underway $38 $19.2 $57.2 

Lexington Multimodal Station Area Plan TIGER 2010 2016 Planning/Design Underway $.7 $.1 $.8 

Charlotte Grade Separation Program HSIPR 2010 2017 Construction Underway $22 $21 $43 

Charlotte-Raleigh Third and Fourth 

Frequencies HSIPR 2009 2017 Planning/Design Underway $520 $0 $520 

The Piedmont Study TIGER 2014 2016 Planning/Design Underway $0.2 $.1 $0.3 

TOTAL $740.4 $56.3 $796.7 

The Piedmont service between Raleigh and Charlotte has increased 

service from twice daily to thrice daily.