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1 <br /> PLANNING & INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT <br /> Craig N. Benedict, AICP, Director <br /> Administration 131 W. Margaret Lane <br /> (919) 245-2575 Suite 201 <br /> (919) 644-3002 (FAX) ORANGE COUNTY P. O. Box 8181 <br /> www.orangecountync.gov NORTH CAROLINA Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> TO: Board of County Commissioners <br /> FROM: Craig Benedict, Orange County Planning Director <br /> CC: Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager <br /> Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager <br /> DATE: January 16, 2020 <br /> SUBJECT: Greater Triangle Commuter Rail (GTCR) Update <br /> Attached for your information is an update to the GTCR study that preliminarily evaluated <br /> the Mebane to Selma rail corridor for commuter service. <br /> Last year, the Board of Commissioners amended the Orange County Transit Plan to <br /> include $75,000 to partner with Durham, Wake, and Johnston counties to update an <br /> alternatives analysis for the Greater Triangle Commuter Rail project. This study represents <br /> a preliminary evaluation of using the existing rail corridor used by Amtrak and freight for <br /> commuter service. The total cost of related studies on the rail corridor and major <br /> investment study (MIS) to date is approximately $1.7 million. <br /> The study evaluates initial <br /> • Ridership <br /> • Cost of improvements (i.e. additional track, stations, and bridges) <br /> • Operating costs <br /> • Federal Funding Scoring <br /> There have been over 15 meetings with project management partners including four <br /> counties, GoTriangle, MPOs, and NC Railroad. Results of the study are now being shared <br /> with governing boards of all partners. <br /> The results of the study indicate that a connection between Durham and Wake Counties <br /> may score well enough to qualify for federal funding while connections that include Orange <br /> County would not score well enough. The attached PowerPoint illustrates the likely scores. <br /> (See the table on Page 21 of this document). <br /> Enclosures: <br /> Attachment 1 — GTCR Preliminary Results PowerPoint <br />