COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rail traffic in South Carolina affects everyone -- from businesses that use freight trains to ship and receive products, to commuters that use the Amtrak passenger trains, and those of us who patiently wait at rail crossings on passing trains.
South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has compiled the 2024 Statewide Rail Plan -- a document that assesses the South Carolina's existing statewide rail system and looks ahead to anticipated trends, needs and issues that could impact that system over the next 20 years -- and wants your opinion on the plan.
Some highlights from the plan include:
- According to the report, freight train traffic in South Carolina is projected to almost double in the next 25 years. The plan notes that, in 2022, freight rail in the state transported 60 million tons of goods valued at $97 million. Those numbers are projected to be 107 million tons of goods valued at $228 billion by 2050.
- Freight rails in South Carolina are owned and operated by two Class I railroads, CSX Corporation (CSX) and Norfolk Southern (NS), that combine for a total of 1,939 miles of national/international rail and 626 miles of rail owned by nine Class III railroad providers that provide vital rail support functions.
- Amtrak operates the only regularly scheduled passenger rail service, with eight daily trains running northbound and southbound over four routes. Passenger service has declined over the past six years, from a high of 196,000 in 2017, to 155,000 riders in 2023.
- The Crescent Line runs on NS lines through Clemson, Greenville and Spartanburg
- The Palmetto and Silver Meteor operate on CSX tracks through Yemassee, Charleston, Kingstree, Florence and Dillon
- The Silver Star uses CSX rail to connect Savannah with Denmark, Columbia, Camden and points north and east.
- A feasibility study on the construction of a high-speed rail service from Charlotte to Atlanta that would run through South Carolina is ongoing
Access the Rail Plan online through this link.
Comments will be accepted until the close of business on December 14, 2024, and should be submitted to Ginny Jones, Public Involvement Director, SCDOT Public Engagement Office, 955 Park Street, P.O. Box 191, Columbia, S.C. 29202 or by email to SCDOTpubliccomment@scdot.org