Diamond State Rail Line Corridor Study

The State of Delaware has received a Federal Rail Administration (FRA) Corridor Identification and Development (CID) Grant to determine the feasibility of extending passenger rail service from Newark (or Wilmington) south through Kent and Sussex Counties in Delaware to Salisbury (or Berlin) in Maryland. DTC/DelDOT will manage this Step 1 feasibility study which will determine if the Diamond State Line Study (DSL) will continue into additional phases of the CID Grant, which will include service planning, preliminary engineering, and environmental work in Steps 2 and 3.

The Schedule and tasks in Step 1 are shown int the attached table. Under the Activity column, the Mini-PMP is the Project Management Plan, the SDP is the Service Development Plan and SOW is the Scope of Work. At the conclusion of CID Step 1, the FRA will determine if the DSL Study will move to Step 2.

The Study will determine the feasibility to begin passenger rail service south from Wilmington or Newark through Dover, to Harrington, and then continue southbound along one of two potential routes to either Salisbury or Berlin, Maryland. Station stops in between Wilmington and Salisbury or Berlin are tentatively envisioned at towns and activity centers along the corridors, but specific station locations will be identified in Step 1 once the route alternative(s) are determined.

The Diamond State Line study seeks to address the acute shortage of viable transportation options in a corridor shed that lacks both a direct interstate highway connection and the passenger rail option that other Northeast states and regions enjoy. It would also connect rural and environmental justice communities in the Delmarva peninsula providing enhanced access and mobility to activity centers such as housing, educational institutions, medical facilities, and retail and commercial services. It would restore passenger rail access to and from Delaware’s largest cities and provide opportunities for multimodal connections to the communities that swell in numbers during the summer. This project supports DelDOT’s goals of enhancing equity by serving historically underserved communities with inadequate access to life’s opportunities.

Study area

Study-related documents

2023 FRA CID Grant Technical Memorandum – View it here.
Project Management Plan – View it here.
FRA presentation – “Corridor ID Program: Implementing Process Improvements for Steps 1 and 2” – View it here.

The previous study:

Click here to review the study.

Please contact Dave Gula, Principal Planner, at dgula@wilmapco.org or 302-737-6205 x122, if you have any questions about this project.