New plan adds Amtrak rail service from Asheville to Salisbury

Asheville residents could one day hop on a train at the local Amtrak station for their next trip to the Carolina Coast or their next business trip to Washington, D.C.

That's if an expansive $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs bill passes that includes big investments in Amtrak's passenger rail network across the country. 

President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan includes $80 billion for Amtrak to expand to new cities, as well as address repairs, modernize its rail system elsewhere and improve existing corridors. 

It's been more than 45 years since an official passenger train left Asheville, and the next one could be about 15 years in the future, if Congress approves the bill.

“Having lived in DC and New York City for 20 years I can personally attest to the benefits and convenience of Amtrak for leisure as well as business travel," said Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Total travel time is often the deciding factor for whether someone opts for train, auto or air transportation.”

The Amtrak Connects US plan seeks to add up to 160 more communities with more than 30 new routes and more trips added to 20 existing routes.

The plan would add 15 more states to Amtrak's network by 2035, as the plan seeks to add 20 million passengers to the 32 million who used Amtrak last fiscal year. 

The plan adds rail stops in Asheville and Wilmington, as well as new service between Raleigh toward Richmond, Virginia, and new service from Charlotte to Birmingham, Alabama. 

The closest operating station to Asheville is in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with other stations in Kannapolis, Gastonia and Greenville. 

More:New Amtrak route proposed for Greenville goes to Charlotte and Atlanta. Here's what we know.

Amtrak currently doesn't serve any cities west of Gastonia and Kannapolis and only has rail in the very western edge of Tennessee. 

Under the plan proposed in the bill, service would also be expanded to Chattanooga and Nashville from Atlanta. 

But passenger rail to Asheville isn't a new conversation.

The state Department of Transportation adopted a plan in 2001 that includes renovating or building train stations that incorporate other community uses, working to find funding for WNC passenger rail and asking Amtrak to update a study on a bus service between Salisbury and Asheville. 

"We appreciate that President Biden recognizes the great importance of transportation infrastructure in regards to getting people access to jobs, health care and educational opportunities," said NCDOT spokesman David Uchiyama in a statement. "That includes not only maintaining what is already here, but also expanding the systems and welcoming new innovations."

He says NCDOT will continue to follow the plan as it moves through Congress. 

Other possible rail travel:Asheville passenger rail connection, after 43 years, now has chance at funding

State-level efforts also pushed for Amtrak to extend a bus line from Salisbury to Asheville in 2015 and 2019.

At that time, Amtrak estimated 2,100 bus passengers would use the connection, though the NCDOT rail division's estimate was much higher, at 13,000.

Officials hoped the success of the bus route could lead to rail service, which legislators hoped to boost with freight rail and tourist excursion trains.

The state's long-range rail plan calls for that service sometime between 2020-2035, and the 2001 study set the cost at an estimated $135 million. 

"This is Amtrak’s vision for growth, which includes input from state and local stakeholders," according to a statement from Kimberly Woods, public relations manager for Amtrak. "If Congress provides sufficient funding to Amtrak, we would work with these states and local partners, as well as with USDOT, to improve existing and build new corridors."

Rep. Madison Cawthorn did not immediately respond to comment April 2 on whether he'd support the bill or the rail line extension.

But he's already attacked the proposal in a tweet, saying the bill "has barely anything to do with infrastructure. Our nation's debt is out of control and these Democratic wish lists do nothing but make it worse."

Alongside Amtrak funding, the American Jobs Plan includes funding for highways, bridges, ports, airports and transit, as well as energy infrastructure, broadband, jobs and drinking water systems, according to a summary from the White House. 

American Jobs Plan:Joe Biden wants to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure and jobs. These 4 charts show where the money would go.

The plan would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% and increase the minimum tax on U.S. multinational corporations to 21%, USA TODAY reports, with projections that the bill be fully paid for in 15 years. 

"With a growing and diverse population, a global climate crisis and longer traffic jams, America needs a rail network that offers frequent, reliable, sustainable and equitable train service," a fact sheet on the plan says. 

It cites Amtrak travel as 83% more energy efficient than driving and 73% more energy efficient than flying.

If Congress approves the funds, it can update its Northeast Corridor and expand to underserved communities across the nation, Woods said, which would "create jobs, improve the quality of life, reduce carbon emissions and generate economic growth."