Railroads are an important part of the transportation system, enabling a cost-effective movement of goods and people to various destinations. North Carolina’s passenger rail system supported approximately 487,000 annual passengers who traveled over 113 million miles on the Piedmont and Carolinian services in 2014.3 These services benefit both passenger rail customers and the state’s overall economy. In the absence of rail service, customers would be required to travel using other (often more-costly) modes or forego their intended trip altogether. This study estimates the benefits North Carolina’s Piedmont and Carolinian rail services provide to its users and to the state’s economy. These benefits are detailed as transportation cost savings (benefits realized by traveling via passenger rail instead of by alternative modes), affordable mobility benefits (benefits derived from trips that would be foregone in the absence of rail service), and expenditure-related economic contribution (impacts to the state’s economy resulting from expenditures related to rail operations and capital expenditures).

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