Charlotte, NC: Red Line Regional Rail

Potential Red Line restart moment: In a deal to build toll lanes on I-77, the state promised the toll operator that it wouldn't add any more free lanes to I-77 in the next 50 YEARS. From a public interest standpoint, this should never have happened, but, hey, it means that rail will be the more-attractive way for the state to add capacity for the next 50 years. Ha!


The contract penalty to Mobility Partners makes adding lanes to I-77 x-Millions less attractive (and lots, politically, less attractive as a pure "waste" of money) and makes the Red Line more attractive (at least paying a penalty to NS in the form of rail upgrades gets you rail upgrades) and it also means, potentially, there's a chunk of highway money that gets freed up (the money not spent widening I-77.

This project has been dead for more than a decade after NS said they were completely unwilling to host passenger rail on these tracks (the mostly dormant route was viewed by NS as helpful negotiation leverage for the NCRR lease). Miraculously, NS has had a change of heart (even before their activist investor issues) and have let CATS know they are now open to negotiations about CATS using these tracks. Four public meetings about the Red Line are scheduled over the next couple of weeks.

Unfortunately #1: CATS has completely tapped out its 1/2 cent transit sales tax, so a new funding source will need to be identified. The state has been blocking the county from voting on an increased sales tax for transit, but the Red Line will be much more popular in Raleigh than other Charlotte transit projects.

Unfortunately #2: The Gateway Station public-private partnership has completely stalled (an office developer was going to build the station in return for adjacent land for office space). This is the planned terminus of the route.

Unfortunately #3: CSX decided they did not want to proceed with their grade separation project to deconflict this line (and the NS main) from their slow tracks downtown. Funds for this were allocated in the 2009 ARRA grants, but NCDOT reallocated those funds elsewhere after the CSX decision.

Unfortunately #4: The Charlotte-Winston route did not get funding from the recent FRA route development grant program, that would have helped to attract some state and federal funds.

Unfortunately #5: CATS has a planned BRT project serving these same communities using the I-77 managed toll lanes. The BRT service will certainly be a faster way to travel from N Meck than rail. Having said this, people really want rail and feel like it was promised to them when the transit tax was implemented 20+ years ago.

Despite all of the downsides, momentum has gathered for this project over the past few months. This could really help break up the political logjam stalling transit expansion in Charlotte.

[paywalled] https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/n ... tings.html

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/charlotte-nor ... 44207.html

Charlotte, Norfolk Southern reach ‘understanding’ for passenger rail line to Lake Norman

The city of Charlotte has reached an “understanding” with Norfolk Southern to use the company’s railroad tracks to connect Lake Norman communities to uptown via the Red Line project, Charlotte City Council member Ed Driggs confirmed.
...
The 25-mile LYNX Red Line would connect uptown Charlotte to Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville via commuter rail.

The Charlotte Area Transit System’s plan for the line would utilize the “O Line” — a set of rarely used freight tracks owned by Norfolk Southern. For years, Norfolk Southern held its ground on not giving CATS access to the tracks, repeatedly saying “Freight operations are long distance and customer-driven, which precludes ‘passenger only’ operating windows.”
...

CATS has reached an agreement to purchase the NS O-Line from downtown Charlotte to Mooresville. NS maintains freight rights.

While the Red Line does not add much mobility since BRT is being developed along the parallel toll lanes on 77 it is a politically critical project for local voter and state buy-in.

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... rn-routes/

Bob Roberts wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2024 10:34 pm CATS has reached an agreement to purchase the NS O-Line from downtown Charlotte to Mooresville. NS maintains freight rights.

While the Red Line does not add much mobility since BRT is being developed along the parallel toll lanes on 77 it is a politically critical project for local voter and state buy-in.

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... rn-routes/

While it was determined that the 77 "BRT" (it's running on the shoulder of the toll lanes, so I imagine highway accidents will impact it) would in fact be faster from end to end , the Regional rail is closer to areas that could have transit oriented development that would reduce car ownership. So honestly, Both would be a good idea, for sake of redundancy.

The Cornelius Rail Task Force is actively seeking answers from Red Line Railway project consultants to ensure the project's viability, including how it will reduce traffic and be funded without raising taxes. Their thorough approach reflects the community's commitment to informed decision-making for the regional rail initiative.

The city of Charlotte is expected to close on the O-Line purchase by early September. The property is planned to be transferred to a regional transit authority if one is created. The reliable rumor mill says that Iredell County (home to the planned Mt Mourne park and ride station (also at the Lowes HQ office site) and a hoped for station in downtown Mooresville) has decided they are not interested in the project. Thanks to recent changes they initiated in state law, Charlotte / CATS is not allowed to purchase any land or ROW in another county without permission. So it currently appears that CATS will end the Red Line at a shoehorned park and ride station between the downtown Davidson station and the county line, which is less than a mile north.

In terms of the proposed route map four posts up, everything north of the kink in the line just above Davidson will be cut.

I suspect this will also create some interesting logistics for service yard space, I would now guess the yard be be much closer to Charlotte, probably around Derita.

Per the city council meeting last night, the city of Charlotte has an agreement to purchase (NS maintains some local freight rights and a right of first refusal on any sale) the O-Line up to the Iredell County line for $74 million (roughly 22 miles of track) plus $17 million for a couple of acres downtown at the station (opposite side of freight tracks from the Gateway Station platform (which is still waiting on a private developer to build a station).

The city also has an option to purchase the tracks from the county line to Mooresville if Iredell county chooses to allow it.

It will be at least a decade before trains are running.