The Fayetteville Area MPO region has multiple major rail routes including passenger and freight and must coordinate with the rail operators and NCDOT Rail division to plan for the future of these rail corridors. Fayetteville and Cumberland County are located in the middle of the Amtrak passenger rail route from New York to Miami with two passenger trains, the Palmetto and Silver Meteor, linking Fayetteville to the rest of the East Coast. FAMPO also has several freight lines and operators including Norfolk Southern, Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad Company, and CSX Transportation. Freight rail also serves Fort Bragg making Fayetteville and Cumberland County a freight rail hub. Rail transportation is an element of FAMPO's 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and can be accessed here. Other rail projects can be accessed below.
Fayetteville-Raleigh Passenger Rail Feasibility Study (August 2020):
The Fayetteville Area MPO and The Capital Area MPO (Raleigh), with technical support from NCDOT, commissioned Metro Analytics and Stantec in 2019 to complete a passenger rail feasibility study in-between Raleigh and Fayetteville. The study was completed in August 2020 and had the objectives to assess the suitability of two active rail corridors for new or additional passenger rail services, understand costs for implementing such a service, and conduct a preliminary estimate of anticipated passenger boardings for scenario-driven train and frequency configurations. The study overall concluded that both corridors were determined to have advantages and disadvantages, there was no definite choice for a preferred option. In the future, a phase two study will be conducted that will focus on one of the two routes. To view the full report click below.