Traffic in Greenville should flow better as CSX has opened a new rail switching yard. The new CSX switching location is off of Highway 11, north of the city, instead of in the middle of the city, between Dickinson Avenue and Arlington Boulevard.

This new yard separates train and vehicular traffic, and eliminates the difficult maneuvers that trains previously had to make between Arlington Boulevard and Howell Street. It also improves public safety by ensuring rescue vehicles have fewer delays when crossing the tracks and heading to the medical district. For motorists, it reduces or eliminates time spent waiting for trains that utilize the switching yard.

"Today is one of those days that changes a community,” said Mayor Allen Thomas. “The move of the CSX switching station from the center of our city to its new rural location is a long-awaited milestone for us. Because of the growth the city has experienced, we recognized the need to work together to find a new location and make the move possible.”

City leaders worked with rail companies and the North Carolina Department of Transportation for years to come up with a solution to the problem. Construction of the project started in the fall of 2009. Norfolk Southern and short line Carolina Coastal Railway participated in earlier phases of the work. 

“This project is a great example of a public-private partnership that offers a comprehensive solution, providing reduced congestion for the citizens of Greenville and a more efficient rail operation for CSX,” said Quintin Kendall, CSX Transportation’s Vice President of State Government and Community Affairs. “Our thanks go out to the citizens of Greenville for their patience, and the many state, local and federal leaders who worked to make this new yard a reality.”

Congressman Walter Jones, Jr., NC Secretary of Transportation Anthony Tata, and local leaders who started work on this project back in the early 2000s were on hand for the ribbon-cutting at the new switching yard.

NCDOT paid for 75 percent of the $9.7 million four-year, multi-phase project, using a grant of approximately $967,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration. U.S. Rep. Walter Jones played an essential role in helping NCDOT obtain this federal funding. CSX Transportation contributed the remaining 25 percent of the financing.

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