Maximizing productivity in “the heart of coal”
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefThe question facing the rail industry is not whether coal traffic will come back, but rather, when will it come back. When it does, the railroads will be ready, as evidenced by ongoing capacity and efficiency improvement projects.
![“Thanks to Secretary Pete [Buttigieg], USDOT, the Federal Railroad Administration and all our partners for making the S-Line passenger rail a reality!!” NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a July 1 LinkedIn post. “Thanks to the hard work of our NCDOT team we broke ground on the first construction project in the Raleigh to Wake Forest segment, a $19M project to grade separate Durant Road 7 months after the grant announcement!!” (Photograph Courtesy of Joey Hopkins)](https://www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/slinelead-315x168.png)