North Carolina Department Of Transportation

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division, doing business as Transportation Dept Public, is a state government entity and transit authority that acts as a federal grant recipient for intercity passenger rail planning, freight rail infrastructure improvements, and rail corridor development work. NCDOT Rail operates as a prime recipient exclusively — all 29 awards in the source data are prime grants with no subcontract activity — and serves a single federal customer base concentrated in the Department of Transportation (100% of awards across three DOT offices).

NCDOT Rail's federal grant footprint centers on intercity passenger rail service development and freight rail safety improvements under Federal Railroad Administration programs. The largest recent award is a $111.285 million Federal Railroad Administration Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Project Grant (CFDA 20.325), awarded July 1, 2024 and running through March 31, 2029, to improve freight intermodal network safety and efficiency on the CSXT National Gateway rail system between Charlotte and Wilmington, North Carolina. The project includes extending three freight sidings near Monroe, constructing two grade separations near Waxhaw and Indian Trail to close grade crossings, closing an additional crossing at Ross Wright Road in Polkton, rehabilitating track and bridge infrastructure in Wilmington, closing three grade crossings there, and upgrading safety at 24 existing grade crossings while increasing freight speeds from 10 to up to 25 miles per hour through Wilmington. NCDOT also received a $103.5 million Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Project Grant (CFDA 20.326) from the Federal Railroad Administration, awarded February 1, 2026 and running through January 31, 2030, for planning and preliminary engineering at approximately 30% design completion for the Raleigh to Richmond corridor, including construction of a grade separation at Rogers Road in Wake Forest. A $2.52 million Federal Lands Access Program Project Grant (CFDA 20.224) from the Federal Highway Administration, awarded August 15, 2023 and running through December 31, 2026, funds preliminary engineering, environmental documentation, and permitting for a rail transportation project.

The portfolio includes eight $500,000 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Cooperative Agreements (CFDA 20.326), all awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration on or around March 15, 2024, each with completion dates in May or June 2026 or August 2026. These support Service Development Plan development for proposed corridors: Fayetteville to Raleigh, Salisbury to Asheville, Carolinian service improvements (Charlotte to Washington, D.C.), Winston-Salem to Raleigh, Raleigh to Wilmington, Kings Mountain to Charlotte, and Charlotte to Atlanta high-speed rail. A $750,000 Cooperative Agreement from the Department of Transportation Immediate Office of the Secretary under the Asset Concessions and Innovative Finance Assistance Program (CFDA 20.945), awarded February 3, 2025 and running through February 2, 2028, supports evaluation of public-private partnerships and asset concessions for the NCDOT Gateway Station project in Charlotte. NCDOT Rail also holds a grant for acquisition of approximately 55 miles of the CSX S-Line rail corridor from Raleigh to near Ridgeway, North Carolina, awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration in November 2021 with ultimate completion in October 2025.

Award volume has accelerated sharply — one award in 2021, zero in 2022, eight in 2024 — with the combined obligated dollars across all awards totaling $934.2 million. Only one award (ultimate completion date in the next twenty-four months) faces recompete exposure in that window. The Motor Vehicles North Carolina Division operates as a named subsidiary.