Piedmont Roundtrip to be Restored

Amtrak will restore operation of one roundtrip of the state-funded Piedmont Service in North Carolina on Aug. 10.

The service, which is funded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, had been suspended in May due to declining ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online reports indicated that Nos. 73 and 76 will return using Amtrak equipment of a P42DC locomotive and Amfleet coaches.

Currently the only Amtrak service between Raleigh and Charlotte is the Carolinian, which operated between Charlotte and New York and is also funded by NCDOT.

In a news release, NCDOT said passengers will be required to wear facial coverings in stations and on trains.

The capacity of the trains is being limited in order to enable physical distancing.

NCDOT rail division spokeswoman Katie Trout said Piedmont service is returning due to a uptick in ridership in the Raleigh-Charlotte corridor.

Trout said demand for rail travel in North Carolina had dropped 95 percent by mid-April but has since rebounded.

The Carolinian, she said, is now operating at 50 percent of its 2019 ridership.

“We are seeing a growing demand for service as folks look to safely get back out,” she said.

Before the pandemic struck last spring NCDOT and Amtrak had operated three Piedmont Service roundtrips between Raleigh and Charlotte.

That fell to one roundtrip in late March when the Carolinian also was suspended.

In May, the Carolinian was reinstated and the last Piedmont Service still running was dropped.

Tags: Amtrak, Amtrak eastern corridor trains, Amtrak in North Carolina, Amtrak's Carolinian, Amtrak's Piedmonts, North Carolina Department of Transportation