CSX, one of two long-distance freight railroads that serve Western North Carolina, is once again moving trains through the mountains into Tennessee a year after Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed nearly 60 miles of track.

The CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision, as the line is known, is a key link between the Southeast and Midwest but also serves businesses in the mountains. Before Helene, it carried about 14 million tons of freight a year, according to the company.

In the weeks following Helene, the railroad was able to restore service from Spruce Pine south toward Charlotte.

But from Spruce Pine west into Tennessee, the tracks followed the North Toe and Nolichucky rivers through steep, narrow valleys. The flooded rivers washed out two bridges and miles of tracks and railbed that had to be rebuilt before trains could move again.

That work was officially completed when the first coal train rolled through the valley from the west on Thursday, Sept. 25. The company will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 2.

Rebuilding the CSX tracks took tons and tons of rock, a process that drew criticism. Last winter, environmental groups sued three federal agencies for allowing the railroad and its contractors to mine rock from the Nolichucky riverbed without required permits. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered CSX not to do any work in the river that would require a permit under federal law, and the company said it adjusted its operations.

Then in August, the state Department of Environmental Quality denied a mining permit for a quarry that was providing stone for the CSX tracks. The Horizon 30 quarry, near Poplar in Mitchell County, had been operating for months just above the Nolichucky River without a permit and was ordered by a Superior Court judge in Watauga County to cease mining and begin reclamation work.

The most challenging section to rebuild covered eight miles through what’s known as the Nolichucky Gorge at the Tennessee state line. Without public road access, the railroad gradually built back the railbed from each end, closing the gap in June.

Some Norfolk Southern tracks remain shut down

Helene heavily damaged three railroads in Western North Carolina: CSX, Norfolk Southern and Blue Ridge Southern, a short-line railroad that serves businesses along routes through Hendersonville and Waynesville that connect to the outside world at Norfolk Southern’s yard in Asheville.

Flooding, landslides and fallen trees left Norfolk Southern’s line impassible from the base of the Blue Ridge near Old Fort through Asheville into Tennessee. Along the Swannanoa, French Broad and Pigeon rivers, the Norfolk Southern tracks were washed out or undermined in more than 100 places, requiring the company to rebuild 13 miles of its line between Asheville and Newport, Tennessee. Trains began moving again between Asheville and points west in late April.

The company says it’s committed to reconnecting Asheville with the rest of North Carolina by rebuilding 16 miles of tracks between Black Mountain and Old Fort. That part of the line tops the Eastern Continental Divide with a series of horseshoe turns through rugged terrain and was heavily damaged by landslides and wash outs.

The N.C. Department of Transportation is studying the Old Fort route for possible future passenger trains between Salisbury and Asheville. Norfolk Southern said earlier this year that it expects the line will be open again sometime this winter.

©2025 The News & Observer. Visit at newsobserver.com. Distributed at Tribune Content Agency, LLC.