CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW)- Soon, you could hop on a train in Conway and in an hour explore Tabor City, North Carolina. Tabor City leaders approached Conway leaders a few months ago, wanting to partner with them on a passenger train service.
” A unique idea that came out of the blue for us and as we explored it more with them it became an idea that we really thought had some air in it. We’re excited about it,” said Adam Emrick, Conway City Administrator.
Conway city leaders went to places like Blue Ridge, GA to explore their rail lines.
“That rail line gets 84,000 riders a year and we looked at another one that gets 250,000 riders a year,” said Emrick.
They city is also thinking of putting specialized rides like the Polar Express during Christmas time which would bring even more people downtown.
“Just the idea of brining any added tourism to the city of Conway to something that’s authentic to what we have here to the city of Conway with the rail is something we’re looking forward to,” said Emrick.
City leaders say the economic impact from the rail line could push forward other plans for downtown Conway.
“I know we’d have more restaurants and more growth that would support the rail service and maybe a hotel or something like that,” said Emrick.
The passenger service won’t happen until the rail way is repaired. Right now, improvements to the line are being done by RJ Corman. The company received a federal grant to make millions of dollars worth of improvements. The city of Conway would not operate any of the rail services, repairs could finish in the next 18 to 36 months.
