In an effort to accommodate attendees of the beloved annual Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury, the N.C. Department of Transportation's Rail Division has crafted a plan to temporarily re-route their state's passenger rail service, NC By Train, to include additional stops in the festival's city. Detailed in their recent announcement, these changes will be in effect on Saturday, the date the festival is set to unfold.
With a service coverage that stretches wide, passengers hailing from Charlotte, High Point, and even as far as Raleigh are enabled to travel directly to the heart of the festivities. To specifically accommodate the influx of visitors, Train 71 is scheduled to seamlessly stop in Salisbury at 8:45 a.m., and at day's close, Train 76 will follow suit, pausing at 7:23 p.m. Numerous other trains will adjust their timetables accordingly, with departures from Raleigh commencing early in the morning at 6:30 a.m. and then scattering throughout the day until the latest train at 5:30 p.m.
Such deliberate adjustments by the NCDOT mirror the success NC By Train has witnessed in recent years. It was noted that in 2024, as much as 720,758 passengers rode the rails, according to a press release on the NCDOT website. This impressive number not only signifies a 12% increase from the prior year but strikingly, marks a 55% surge since 2019, signaling a revival and growth in train travel following the challenges of the COVID era.
The temporal reshaping of train schedules to serve a local occasion like the Cheerwine Festival underscores the value placed on community events within the state. It reflects a wider cultural emphasis on accessibility, ensuring that an opportunity to collectively indulge in the festivities is made available to all.
For a full list of schedules, more details can be found on NC By Train's service alterations on the NCDOT website.
