It’s a sound many longtime Henderson residents recall fondly – the familiar sound of the train whistle. From the way some local officials are talking, the trains could be running through Henderson once again, bringing with them the chance for some economic development in and around the downtown area.
“I’m excited about the prospect for Henderson and for the railroad,” said Henderson Assistant City Manager Paylor Spruill. “There’s a resurgence and interest in the railroad and what it can do, not just for Henderson, but throughout North Carolina,” Spruill said on Tuesday’s Town Talk.
He and City Councilman Garry Daeke spoke with John C. Rose about some exciting possibilities for a future high-speed rail and freight line, in addition to commuter rail service.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is using some federal grant funding to study the feasibility of having a commuter, or S-Line, rail service. Both Spruill and Daeke said it’s pretty much a done deal that Henderson will be a regional stop on this line.
“We will have a stop in Henderson,” Daeke said.
The next step is to identify a spot for a station that can handle both the high-speed and the commuter service. One possibility is the old bank building located just about in the center of town, Daeke said. It’s been vacant for some time, and the building is squeezed in among other buildings on Garnett Street, but it’s a possibility.
“There are some other sites up and down the line,” he said, but added that it’s exciting to think that Henderson will be a stop on the line. It’s also exciting, from a city perspective, to think “big” in terms of economic development in and around the train station. From business and industry, to restaurants, social and recreational activities, the sky’s the limit.
Additional housing for those who commute to, say, the Raleigh area is another possibility for development.
“We’ve got some time, but we need to go ahead and start looking” for a site where the station could be located, Daeke said.
“There’s a whole lot of infrastructure that will have to go in to support the train station,” Spruill said, from elevator towers and a parking deck to several overpasses and underpasses to
accommodate the flow of rail, street and pedestrian traffic.
The project has some distance to go, but, Spruill said, “they’re still making some giant strides.”
