The Triangle Transit Authority, which serves the fast-growing

The Triangle Transit Authority, which serves the fast-growing Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, is planning a $228 million, 34-mile, 16-station rail commuter line. The project will use state-of-the-art, self-propelled, diesel trains capable of traveling on existing freight tracks. Like plans adopted for a number of other metropolitan areas (San Diego, Portland, Sacramento), transit-oriented development guidelines are an integral part of the plan. The guidelines essentially follow new urbanist principles of relatively dense, pedestrian-oriented streets and public spaces with a mix of uses and housing types. They were drawn in cooperation with local municipal officials, whose approval is required to put them into effect. Funding for the rail project is anticipated to come from 50 percent federal, 25 percent state and 25 percent local sources. The 34-mile project, planned to be operational by 2003 or 2004, is the first phase of a transit system that could eventually include eight branch lines.