Amtrak is requiring all passengers to wear masks and is limiting the number of riders on trains so passengers can effectively social distance. | Stock Photo at Getty Images
Amtrak is requiring all passengers to wear masks and is limiting the number of riders on trains so passengers can effectively social distance. | Stock Photo at Getty Images
The state will resume the Piedmont rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte in response to returning rider demand for passenger trains, according to reports.
When the stay-at-home order was issued in spring to deter the spread of COVID-19, rail travel in North Carolina dropped by approximately 95%, Mass Transit reported on Aug. 6. People are gradually starting to travel again, transportation spokeswoman Katie Trout said, the Mass Transit reported.
"We are seeing a growing demand for service as folks look to safely get back out," Trout said, Mass Transit reported. "As things have slowly begun opening back up, the Carolinian is operating at around 50% of 2019 levels and is currently one of the best-performing trains in Amtrak's system."
The addition of a daily round trip of the Piedmont is the first time since early April that Piedmont and Amtrak’s Carolinian have run at the same time between the two cities.
Amtrak is taking steps to put people at ease with traveling with strangers again. In addition to more rigorous cleaning routines for rail cars and stations, Amtrak currently requires everyone to wear masks or face coverings while on platforms and in stations and trains and is limiting the number of rides on trains so passengers can easily social distance.
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