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PRESS RELEASES
New Hospitality Area and New Trains Available for North Carolina's Amtrak Passengers Visiting the 2010 Barbecue Festival
September 30, 2010
Lexington, NCThe City of Lexington's newly renovated Southern Railway Freight Depot will house a special hospitality area dedicated to the comfort and convenience of the passengers riding North Carolina's Amtrak trains to the 27th Annual Barbecue Festival on Saturday, October 23. The City of Lexington acquired a lease to the former Southern Railway facility from the North Carolina Railroad Company in November of 2009. Beginning in January, 2010 the City performed extensive repairs and renovation of the depot including the installation of new restrooms. The City observed the official grand opening of the facility on June 12, 2010. The Freight Depot has been occupied by the Lexington Farmer's Market during the 2010 market season. The depot and Rail Passenger Hospitality Area is located immediately adjacent to the passenger train stop and a short walk from the Barbecue Festival area in Uptown Lexington.
The hospitality area will be hosted by the Tourism-Recreation Investment Partnership for Davidson County's Passenger Rail Advisory Committee. The hospitality area will be staffed all day by volunteer hosts and available to Amtrak passengers from the time the first train arrives in the morning until the last train departs in the evening. Complementary refreshments will be available throughout the day inside the depot as well as seating and tables for train passengers who wish to take a mid-day break from the Barbecue Festival activities. A package check service will be available to North Carolina's Amtrak passengers so they will be able to drop off any purchases at the Depot that they do not wish to carry with them through the day. The Barbecue Festival organizers will also provide the hospitality area with live entertainment for Amtrak passengers waiting for the evening trains.
New options are also available to Festival goers traveling by train to the 2010 Festival. All of North Carolina's Amtrak passenger trains including the new Mid-Day Piedmonts will serve Lexington on Barbecue Festival day with six passenger trains.
Trains 80 and 73 are available to Festival goers planning to spend a full day at the Festival:
- Train 80, the northbound Carolinian will depart Charlotte at 7:30 a.m. making stops to board passengers in Kannapolis and Salisbury arriving in Lexington at 8:31 a.m.
- Train 73, the morning Piedmont will depart Raleigh at 6:50 a.m. making stops to board passengers in Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro and High Point arriving in Lexington at 8:57 a.m.
Trains 74 and 75 are available to Festival goers who prefer a mid-day arrival:
- Train 74, the northbound Mid-Day Piedmont will depart Charlotte at 12:30 p.m. making stops to board passengers in Kannapolis and Salisbury arriving in Lexington at 1:29 p.m.
- Train 75, the southbound Mid-Day Piedmont, will depart Raleigh at 11:50 a.m. making stops to board passengers in Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro and High Point arriving in Lexington at 1:57 p.m.
All Festival goers will return home on trains 76 and 79:
- Train 76, the afternoon Piedmont will depart Lexington at 6:14 p.m. for High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, Cary and Raleigh.
- Train 79, the southbound Carolinian will depart Lexington at 7:06 p.m. for Salisbury, Kannapolis and Charlotte.
For complete information on riding North Carolina's Amtrak to the Barbecue Festival, visit www.bytrain.org. Tickets can be purchased one of four easy ways: on line at Amtrak.com; by calling Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL or by picking up the red reservations phone at Amtrak stations in Cary, Burlington, High Point, Salisbury or Kannapolis; at the automated ticket kiosks located in all North Carolina Amtrak stations except Cary; or in person at walk-up windows in Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Charlotte, Wilson and Rocky Mount. Tickets should be booked using the Fare Code "LEX". Book early for the best fares.
The Barbecue Festival, designated as a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event, attracts more than 100,000 people annually to Uptown Lexington. The day-long street festival (the 27th annual) consists of hundreds of exhibits including a juried art/craft show, six stages of live entertainment, a 50-ton pig themed sand sculpture, the Barbecue Carnival and Family area featuring special activities for children, rides and games, the "Hogway Speedway" racing pigs, an antique car show, bicycle stunt show, "Festival Chop Shop" lumberjack sports show, climbing wall and more. The Festival also features the best barbecue in the world. Festival hours are 8:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and admission to the festival is free.
Additional Information:
Rail Passenger Hospitality Area
City of Lexington
John L. Gray, City Manager
336-248-3910
johngray@lexingtonnc.net
William Deal, Tourism-Recreation Investment Partnership
336-956-6150; 336-240-1984
tdirector@visitdavidsoncounty.com
Barbecue Festival Events
The Barbecue Festival
Stephanie K. Saintsing, Executive Director
336-956-1880
ss@barbecuefestival.com
www.barbecuefestival.com
Passenger Train Operations
North Carolina's Amtrak
Joan Bagherpour, Marketing Communications Manager
919-733-7245, Ext. 261
www.bytrain.org
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