Raleigh Union Station opened downtown this summer. The train station, a 10 minute drive from NC State’s main campus, was built to sustain the city’s plans of giving citizens more transportation options.
Union Station is open every day from 5:45 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and offers four daily round trips between Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte. The station features a first class lounge, payphones, vending machines, bike storage, and wheelchair-accessible restrooms and boarding platforms.
Catherine Reeve, director of NCSU Transportation, believes the new station is an efficient way to travel for students who wish to go to their homes or even other universities.
“It is a very cost effective and pleasant way to commute home,” Reeve said. “You have more flexibility, and it is a pretty ride, especially in the fall because you take some back roads. And it’s kinda rural.”
Reeve said that, because students do not have to drive themselves, they can study, listen to music and even sleep on their way home.
“It is a really neat experience, and I would encourage all students to take advantage of this service,” Reeve said.
The project lasted about three years from conceptual design to completion. It was a partnership between Raleigh and the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration.
Allan Paul, deputy director of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division, said that NCDOT made sure to incorporate citizen’s input while designing the station.
“We held multiple public workshops before we settled on the actual design and sight of the building,” Paul said. “I believe we have a building that is both flexible and is going to serve the community in more ways than just transportation.”
The station also has North Carolina’s very first high-level platform, allowing people to board trains without having to use a staircase.
According to Paul, without a staircase, this makes the station the first to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.
“[This is the] first fully ADA compatible platform south of Washington, D.C., which allows passengers in wheelchairs or mobility devices to roll directly on or off of the train and onto the platform,” Paul said.
Paul said because the station is a city-owned facility, it is a part of Raleigh’s established procedures to charge for parking.
“The biggest difference is the fact that we now require passengers to pay for their parking both short-term and long-term, whereas the old facility was free parking that was right up against the station building,” Paul said.
The project had several different funding sources: Two Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grants (TIGER) in 2012 and 2013, which brought in close to $54 million, the city of Raleigh’s contribution of around $26 million and NCDOT, which contributed a little over $10 million.
The station has already received extremely favorable feedback not only from passengers, but from people in the neighborhood as well.
“We are delighted that people are visiting the facility,” Paul said. “It was our intent that the station building would, in effect, become Raleigh’s living room for the Warehouse District.”
According to Paul, a majority of the engineers who worked on designing and building Union Station are NC State graduates.
“Railroading engineering is a promising career for young people,” Paul said. “We certainly benefited from a lot of NC State graduates with our program.”
Byron Bryant, transit manager at NCSU Transportation, similarly believes that Union Station will benefit students at NC State.
“I think the entire travel experience will be a cleaner and more comfortable environment for students,” Bryant said.
Paul said that sustainability was also a key factor in the building of the station.
The service is “a very energy efficient way of moving people around,” said Paul. “We are looking to expand the services throughout the state even more in the coming year.”
Students want to learn more about the new Union Station can visit their website.
