NCDOT Rail Chief Visits Burlington to Discuss Passenger Service Improvements

Burlington's city council got a direct briefing last Monday from the state's top rail official, but local leaders left the meeting still pressing for something concrete: the restoration of a passenger rail stop in their city.

Jason Orthner, director of the NCDOT Rail Division, traveled to Burlington to update elected officials and city staff on recent and upcoming changes to passenger rail service in the region, including infrastructure projects tied to the state's push to accelerate travel on the Raleigh-Charlotte corridor. The visit also served as a preview of a broader public relations initiative that will take Orthner and his NCDOT colleagues to communities across the Piedmont.

Burlington's mayor made clear the city wants more than a briefing. "We owe an obligation to help improve ridership," the mayor said. "We want to assist in outreach and community engagement...That's what we're looking for - some collaboration and dialogue so we can add that stop back."

The Alamance News, which first reported on the meeting, characterized the mood among Burlington and other city officials as feeling sidelined as state rail plans advance. NCDOT, by contrast, is pressing ahead aggressively. The agency is "moving full speed ahead with its plans to expedite passenger service between Raleigh and Charlotte," according to the paper's account of Orthner's message to the council.

Orthner's Burlington stop was, in part, a warm-up for the forthcoming Piedmont-wide outreach tour. No schedule or list of communities has been made public, and NCDOT has not indicated which municipalities are on the itinerary beyond the broad Piedmont designation.

The specific stop Burlington officials hope to restore was not described in detail in available accounts of the meeting. No timeline, operational details, or commitments from NCDOT were disclosed. Burlington city hall and NCDOT's Rail Division have not yet released meeting materials, presentations, or formal next steps from the March 3 session.

Whether Burlington ultimately secures a restored stop will likely depend on how the city follows through on the mayor's pledge to engage in outreach and ridership-building, and whether NCDOT's Piedmont tour produces the kind of regional dialogue Burlington officials are seeking.