FRA pronounces Sealed Corridor a success - Industry Outlook - Federal Railroad Administration; North Carolina high-speed rail servoce - Brief Article

Railway Age, June, 2002

The Federal Railroad Administration says North Carolina's Sealed Corridor crossing safety program should serve as a model for other states trying to clear the way for high speed passenger rail service. North Carolina launched the program in 1995 in the Charlotte-Raleigh corridor, which included 172 public and 44 private crossings.

The State DOT worked with Norfolk southern and CSX Transportation to install and test technology ranging from four quadrant gates to flexible median separators. An FRA study evaluated 10 improved crossings in the portion of the passenger/freight corridor between Greensboro and Charlotte. FRA found that these improvements, funded with $12.5 million in federal and state grants, had saved about six lives and reduced the potential for future truck/train collisions in a corridor used by both passenger and freight trains. The Sealed Corridor improvements "are critical as the state works to make high speed passenger railroad in North Carolina a reality," said FRA Administrator Allan Rutter.