Chris Creech of Johnston County vowed 20 years ago that he would never take a train again, after a 12-hour trip from Raleigh to Orlando turned into an 18-hour ordeal.
“I said the next time I get on the train it would be in a wooden box,” Creech says.
Yet there he was early Thursday morning, with his wife Christy and two friends, waiting to board the US Open Express, a special train that Amtrak and the N.C. Department of Transportation run between the Triangle and Pinehurst. Being able to get off the train a short walk from the golf course on the opening day of the tournament was enough for Creech to reconsider his vow.
He had a lot of company. Amtrak sold all 300 seats on both the morning and evening trains on Thursday and Friday and also filled a 60-seat car on Saturday and Sunday.
“We had to add cars because of ticket sales, and we’re still sold out,” said Joey Hopkins, NC Secretary of Transportation. “I mean, that’s a good problem to have.”
NCDOT arranged for the special trains to ease traffic to the Open and give people an alternative to driving. For fans like Matt Verboon of Raleigh, the $50 round-trip ticket was well worth avoiding the drive and looking for parking.
“This is just much easier,” says Verboon.
The US Open Express attracted rail travel veterans as well as those who have never ridden a passenger train before. Everyone was dressed for a warm day outside, and almost no one had an overnight bag with them.
The first train left Raleigh Union Station at 7 a.m. Thursday and, after a stop in Cary to pick up more passengers, was scheduled to arrive in Pinehurst just after 9 a.m. The return trip will depart Pinehurst at 6:35 PM and is expected to arrive in Cary around 6:35 PM. 8:30 PM and Raleigh Union Station 15 minutes later.
The trains largely follow the route of Amtrak’s Silver Star, which passes through Raleigh, Cary and Southern Pines on its way between New York and Miami.
But in Aberdeen, the Open Express switches to tracks owned by the Aberdeen Carolina & Western, a short-line railroad that serves the south-central part of the state. The Aberdeen Carolina & Western tracks run right through Pinehurst, allowing the Open Express to stop near the Pinehurst No. 2 golf course where the tournament is taking place.
Hopkins noted that NCDOT and Amtrak make special stops at major events along their routes, including the NC State Fair in Raleigh and the Lexington Barbecue Festival. It takes more effort to use tracks that are not on an Amtrak route, but Hopkins said NCDOT will look for ways to do it again.
“We want to expand passenger rail,” he said. “We would like to do intercity if that is possible. But other than that, these special event trains make sense, especially if large numbers of people are going there.
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