Plane landing at Raleigh Durham International Airport; credit Ken Thomas
Raleigh Transportation
Airport
Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU) is a midsize airport with airline service by Alaska, Allegiant, Air Canada, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United. Non-stop destinations from RDU include Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Newark, NYC-JFK, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle and Nashville.
The terminals include WiFi, restaurants, cafes, shops and business services. Rental cars are provided by Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National and Thrifty are available at the airport. Taxis from RDU Airport to downtown Raleigh cost about $20. Hotel shuttles also depart from the airport, so check when you make hotel reservations. Count on 30-45 minutes to reach downtown.
Train Station
Amtrak trains arrive daily at Raleigh Union Station, an impressive piece of public architecture with waiting room, vending machines and ticket sales office. Oddly, Amtrak service through Raleigh does not extend beyond Charlotte to Atlanta:
Carolinian: Charlotte-High Point-Greensboro-Durham-Raleigh-Richmond-Washington-Baltimore-Philadelphia-NYC
Piedmont: Charlotte-High Point-Greensboro-Durham-Raleigh
Carolinian & Piedmont combine for 10 daily roundtrip trains between Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh. Various ticket discounts apply to the state-supported Piedmont line.
Amtrak Carolinian train leaving Raleigh; credit J Willamor
Charlotte-Durham-Raleigh-Richmond-Washington is a U.S. High Speed Rail Corridor designated for future 110 mph service. The route is being incrementally upgraded. Depending on arrival of federal funding, the upgrade can complete in 2025.
Freeways
Durham Freeway Network is logical, extensive and signage is adequate. Though you have periods of fast moving traffic, count on slow traffic between RDU Airport and downtown Raleigh during commute hours.