Raleigh's station takes a new track.

• Position: Triangle

Several rail ideas have run off the track in the Triangle in recent years, but a new plan--or, rather, a retrofitted one--might have some real steam behind it. In January, the Raleigh City Council earmarked $3 million to renovate a former Dillon Supply Co. steel-fabrication building into its new Amtrak station. The city is home to the second-busiest passenger depot in the Southeast, but the station is a cramped 4,720 square feet. The Dillon option replaces a proposed transportation hub, dubbed Union Station, that city leaders put forward in 2010 for its Amtrak and wished-for light-rail and high-speed-rail services...