The S Line Program Corridor is a critical 162-mile portion of the federally-designated Southeast Rail Corridor. Amtrak is working with Virginia and North Carolina to better connect key southeastern cities to the Northeast Corridor (NEC). 

The scope of the S Line Program includes the incremental development, implementation, and operation of higher-speed rail passenger service in this segment, and improved connections from Charlotte to Washington, DC. The management of the S Line Program, including its design and construction, as well as the provision of necessary funding, is NCDOT’s responsibility, with Virginia and Amtrak serving as partners. Currently, Preliminary Engineering (PE), which began in 2022, is being conducted for the corridor from Raleigh, NC to Petersburg, VA. Following PE, this program will move on to final design and then onto to a suite of construction projects for the associated physical assets which will be phased by geographical segment. The first segmented phase stretches from Raleigh to Wake Forest, NC.

Improved passenger service along the S Line Program Corridor will support the significant recent and projected population growth in Virginia and North Carolina while addressing the existing and growing congestion of both roadways and air travel in the area. It will serve intercity business and leisure travelers between Virginia and North Carolina, as well as those accessing (and connecting to) the NEC, which extends from Washington, DC, to New York, NY, and Boston, MA, and allow patrons in the NEC area to reach destinations to the south. The S Line Program will provide increased service options to anchor stations in Richmond, Raleigh, and Charlotte, as well as the addition of several potential new stations in both North Carolina and Virginia.