- While managed privately, NCRR is wholly owned by the State of North Carolina — the only state-owned rail line in the nation. However, transparency on financial records and funding sources can be murky.
The North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) announced last week the launch of an economic development program company executives say will ease the path to further economic growth by boosting industrial site readiness along the 317-mile rail corridor.
The aim of the Options Program is to preserve land for future industrial users and strengthen North Carolina’s competitive position in attracting new businesses, said the company in a press release.
“Speed to market is critical for businesses, and site control is a key factor in meeting that demand,” said Trish Haver, NCCRR Chief Commercial Officer in a statement. “NCRR’s Options Program addresses a significant market gap by helping local governments and economic development organizations (EDOs) secure land for future industrial use. This initiative not only unlocks opportunities for grants and other resources but also ensures that sites are rail-ready and competitive, positioning communities for economic growth.”
While managed privately, NCRR is wholly owned by the State of North Carolina — the only state-owned rail line in the nation. Created by an act of the NC General Assembly in 1848, the rail line now stretches from Charlotte, snaking around the Triad and Triangle, terminating at the Port of Morehead City. NCRR maintains and improves the line, supported by a longterm operations and use leases with railway operators like Norfolk Southern and CSX.
The strategic property acquisition initiative will be available for local governments and economic development officers to assist with site control, streamlining the process for site identification, due diligence studies, development, and marketing to expand the pipeline of rail-ready sites.
“NCRR is dedicated to enhancing North Carolina’s competitiveness on a national scale,” Carl Warren, NCRR’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “By stewarding economic development programs that create a pipeline of shovel-ready sites, we are facilitating economic growth and attracting new businesses to the state.”
As an economic driver, rail connections are often vital for industrial and manufacturing investments to be viable.
Being owned by the state, NCRR reinvests a significant portion of the leasing revenue back into infrastructure and site-development to drive economic growth along the corridor. The Options Program fits the bill, aiming to catalyze the development of industrial sites to attract further commercial investment.
Being a privately run corporation, however, transparency on financial records and funding sources can be murky.
Carolina Journal previously struggled to obtain records regarding land purchases by NCRR related to the development of the Randolph County Megasite. Despite it being owned by the state taxpayers, the company then asserted it was not subject to public records laws. (The state government of North Carolina bought the remaining 25% of shares in NCRR in 1998)
In 2023, NCCRR launched new service areas, including consulting services and industrial property services. the new services represented “a bold commitment to fostering growth across the state,” the company said in its annual report.
Details about how the Options Program will work in practice were not included in the initial release. The initiative could be based on strategic acquisition practices the company has employed to aid large economic development projects along the corridor in the past, seeking to offer these to local governments interested in improving their chances at landing a high-impact industrial employer.
At time of publication, NCRR had not responded to Carolina Journal’s request for an interview to learn more about how the Options Program will work.