[4] In January 2003, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a Record of Decision (ROD), confirming that all required analyses, mitigation, and public involvement objectives had been met.

[4] Subsequently, in February 2003, the FTA approved TTA's request to progress to the Final Design phase, allowing for further refinement of project details.

[4] By August 2005, TTA had completed the 100% level of design, finalizing plans for station locations and track alignments, and continued progressing toward the receipt of federal funds.

Proposals to extend this corridor by an additional 7 miles to Chapel Hill using light rail technology were indefinitely deferred in 2006 after the Federal Transit Administration declined funding for the project due to financial constraints and shifting federal priorities.

In 1992, the Triangle Fixed Guideway Study was completed after securing a grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to study long-range regional public transportation for the three-county Triangle region (Durham, Orange, and Wake).

As a result, work on the regional rail system was suspended in order to reexamine costs and future funding options.

[7] To analyze the future of regional rail in the Triangle, a partnership between TTA, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC), NC Department of Transportation's Public Transportation Division (NCDOT), and Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG) jointly conducted The Transit Blueprint Technical Analysis Project.

The results of the Blueprint have been used to set priorities for major transit investments based on land use, travel market, and cost characteristics.

The Special Transit Advisory Commission (STAC), which met between May 2007 and April 2008, was a broad-based citizen group with 38 members from across the Research Triangle Region.

The Commission presented their final report to the metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) at a joint meeting on May 21, 2008.

Triangle and Triad counties can hold referendums on a one-half cent sales tax for transit.

With passage in the NC General Assembly in summer 2009, Governor Bev Perdue signed the bill into law in August 2009.

County Commissions have the authority to call for a referendum when they are satisfied with the transit plans they have decided upon and are ready to go to the voters for funding.

[7] In April 2012, a Notice of Intent (NOI) was published in the Federal Register indicating that the Federal Transit Administration and Triangle Transit intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Durham-Orange LRT project only.

From their discussions, a Scoping Report was published and identified all human and natural environment aspects of the project that required additional analysis and consideration during the EIS phase.

[7] Three public meetings in November 2013 will show the alternatives carried forward for further study in the Environmental Impact Statement phase.

[8] The 17.7-mile light rail service connects the UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill to NCCU in Durham, serving major locations in the two regions.

In July 2017, GoTriangle received approval from the Federal Transit Administration to proceed from initial “Project Development” to “New Starts Engineering,” which means GoTriangle will work closely with FTA over the next few years to finalize the project design.

Operating service around the major cities of Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Apex.

In 2024, the agency received federal RAISE grant to build a new transit center near NC 54, Wilkinson Farm Road, and rail tracks owned by the North Carolina Railroad.

Orange Public Transportation is a transit program serving Hillsborough, Outer Chapel Hill, and Carrboro.

A final environmental impact statement was released by GoTriangle in February 2016, projecting 23,020 daily trips in 2040.

[20] After the failure of the Durham–Orange Light Rail project, GoTriangle began studying the possibility of instating a commuter rail service which would serve Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park, and Garner, possibly as far as Clayton.