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Here is a recent article from the local paper about what many in the area would like to see happen to the line. from the Tryon Daily Bulletin Polk on board new push for local excursion trains Chris Dailey November 22, 2005 Polk County officials are jumping on board a new effort to bring passenger rail service for tourists and commuters to the local rail line. Polk County Economic Development Director Kipp McIntyre says Spartanburg, S.C. is leading the latest effort to build a coalition of public and private entities that can turn the vision into a working plan. McIntyre gave an update on the latest developments last Thursday to the Polk County Public Works Commitee, which includes representatives from the county and its three municipalities. McIntyre says he was contacted by Spartanburg Mayor Pro Tem Renee Cariveau recently to discuss the potential for excursion trains from Spartanburg to Asheville, and perhaps beyond. He says Spartanburg is interested in the tourism and economic development opportunities that such a train would create, particularly given its current “spirited renewal” downtown. The terminus of the local rail line in Spartanburg is located near the revitalized Morgan Square, the Renaissance Park Complex and new Marriott Spartanburg Hotel, Barnett Park, the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau and the new Chapman Cultural Center, now under construction. An excursion train could run from Spartanburg through Polk County, rising up the historic “Saluda Grade” to the Asheville basin, where it would cross the Blue Ridge Parkway and Biltmore Estate before reaching downtown Asheville. Officials say the line would benefit not only Spartanburg and Asheville, but every community in between. Several stops would be likely in the local area. “As this project moves forward it will have a very serious impact on Polk County in a very positive way,” says McIntyre. Before getting to that point, though, local officials must convince Norfolk Southern, the owner of the local line, to let passenger trains on the track. So far, that’s been a difficult task. Norfolk Southern has resisted the idea of allowing passenger trains, saying it’s reserving the line in case it resumes freight traffic. It’s been nearly four years since there was regular freight traffic on the line, and Norfolk cut the line in two places in April of 2003 to railbank a 20-mile section. Railbanking the section, which starts just south of Hwy. 14 in Landrum, S.C. and extends past Saluda, allowed Norfolk to reserve it without having the costs of regular maintenance. Tryon council member Dennis Durham explained to McIntyre at the public works meeting the problems encountered when approaching Norfolk Southern in the past. He said the Carolina Heritage Line Committee, created locally after Norfolk stopped regular freight traffic here, got support from local counties and cities, and the N.C. Department of Transportation. But he says Norfolk made it clear that it’s not interested in passenger service on the line, and the liability insurance it would have required for passenger service was exorbitant. “I’m all in support of any renewed effort,” said Durham. “But we’ve been through this effort for three and a half years… and (Norfolk) still says ‘it’s our railroad, stay off it.’” McIntyre says he’s hopeful that the latest effort to sell the passenger service idea to Norfolk will make progress. He notes that the founder of Spartanburg-based Extended Stay America serves on the Norfolk Southern Board of Directors, and a few other business and political leaders may have connections to the rail company. McIntyre said letters from the governors of both North Carolina and South Carolina may ultimately be needed before excursion train service can begin here. “It’s going to have to be plugged into an east coast alternative transportation network,” says McIntyre. He adds that a Cross Border Initiative (CBI), supported by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, has been launched to find regional approaches to common economic opportunities across state lines. In the local area, the CBI was initiated to bring together business, education and government leaders from Polk, Rutherford, Spartanburg, S.C. Greenville, S.C. and Cherokee, S.C. counties. A group of 15 of these leaders met last month at the Pine Crest Inn in Tryon. Polk County officials say such collaborative efforts could help in a variety of initiatives, including excursion trains. Polk County Manager Michael Talbert says the chances of convincing Norfolk improve as more people get behind the project, but he added that if they can’t make progress with Norfolk “we’ll be wasting time.” “The idea at this point is to bring as many people together as possible… and then approach Norfolk Southern,” says Polk County Manager Michael Talbert. “We’re looking to bring in as many partners as we can.” http://tryondailybulletin.com/news/17862.asp I figure NS has no means of abandoning the line at the time. This is just a theory of mine, but I believe traffic may not be seen on the line until 2010 at the earliest when Yucca Mountain is slated to start accepting nuclear waste in Nevada. I know that the line is proposed to carry a fair amount of nuclear waste from various nuclear power sites in South Carolina. Duke Power is also planning to build another nuclear reactor in the Upstate (possibly Cherokee County - to be announced by Duke by the end of the month) which will be online by 2015, adding more waste to be transported. Progress Energy is also looking to build their own reactor somewhere in the Piedmont of N.C. I highly doubt excursion trains will be seen any time soon though.
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