Waiting for the Train

Passenger train service was discontinued to Western NC in the 1970s. A third of the state of North Carolina is isolated without any intercity public transportation, rail, bus or otherwise. In 2023 two new neighbors, who moved into their homes one week apart, started a conversation about the whistle of the freight train they could hear at night. Not a week later they read about the possibility of passenger rail returning to the region. In speaking with other neighbors and the local mayor, they formed Waiting For The Train, a citizens' group dedicated to working with all the communities along the line to help make that a reality. It is clear that passenger rail is an essential common good, for the health of our economy, for the preservation of our natural beauty and for human connection.