Charlotte leaders say they’re “cautiously optimistic” progress is ahead for overcoming a longstanding hurdle to expanding public rail service into northern Mecklenburg County and Mooresville.
In a July letter to Mayor Vi Lyles and City Manager Marcus Jones — first reported Wednesday by the Charlotte Ledger — Norfolk Southern railroad said it’s “willing to consider engaging” with Charlotte and others in the region on access to tracks considered critical to the proposed “Red Line.”
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 system would utilize the “O Line” — a set of rarely used freight tracks owned by Norfolk Southern.
But 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.”
The newly reported letter signals the company’s position may be softening.
“We have not decided upon what form such a transaction might take, whether an outright sale of the O Line or some variant of a lease,” the letter, signed by Senior Vice President Michael R. McClellan, said. “This correspondence solely reflects our willingness to engage, and is not a binding commitment that Norfolk Southern, ultimately, would proceed to a transaction.”
In a statement, city of Charlotte spokesman Lawrence Corley said the city is “cautiously optimistic that Norfolk Southern will proceed with our current discussions and engage in a fruitful dialogue, and that we will be able to find common ground that would lead to a transaction.”
The city is “not going to comment on specifics,” Corley said.
Lyles struck a similar tone in her own statement on the letter, saying she’s “greatly encouraged by the current discussions with Norfolk Southern.”
“Mobility is a shared priority for Charlotte and the region. Our region’s leadership knows this is good for business, good for opportunity and good for the environment,” she said. “... Connecting Charlotte to North Mecklenburg has always been the pathway to unlocking regional mobility and getting state authorization for a sales tax. Working together, this long-awaited opportunity is before us.”
U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat whose district includes much of Mecklenburg County, said in a statement he was “encouraged” by Norfolk Southern’s letter.
“Opening up commuter rail to the north of Charlotte would be a massive win for the city, and the region. It would bring economic growth and improve quality of life for thousands of people,” he said.
Sustain Charlotte, which previously led a petition drive urging Norfolk Southern and NC Railroad to work with CATS to make the Red Line possible, hailed the letter as good news for the environment and equity.
“A lot of people don’t drive a car, either by choice or by necessity ... And the more extensive our public transit network is, the more people can reach their daily destinations,” said Meg Fencil, the group’s director of engagement and impact.
What is the Red Line?
The Red Line proposal has been around since 2002, according to CATS. A 25-mile commuter rail line, it would include 10 stations, including “park and ride” locations. Its route would roughly run parallel to Interstate 77 and connect the same towns currently served by toll lanes.
“Continuing implementation challenges and strategies related to Norfolk Southern’s passenger rail policy make the LYNX Red Line commuter rail difficult to implement,” CATS says.
The O-Line, which connects Winston-Salem and Charlotte, is rarely used by Norfolk Southern, the Observer reported in 2020.
In 2018, CATS notes, the MetroRAPID Bus Rapid Transit was introduced “as a medium-term transit solution” amid Red Line delays to provide “direct Express bus service from four park and ride locations in North Mecklenburg to Uptown Charlotte.”
The Charlotte City Council voted in September to spend $5 million on designs for the Red Line.
Funding has also been a hurdle to expanding public transit across the region.
Then-CATS CEO John Lewis said in October 2022 that local leaders would need to put a penny sales tax referendum or something similar on the ballot to pay for the Red Line and the Silver Line, a proposed 26.6 miles of light rail from Belmont to the Central Piedmont Community College Levine Campus in Matthews.
The Charlotte City Council in February advanced a plan to ask state legislators to increase taxes to pay for transportation improvements, but that proposal failed to advance in Raleigh.
Discontent among Mecklenburg leaders over CATS
The possibility of movement on the Red Line comes weeks after leaders of multiple Mecklenburg County towns criticized CATS and the role the city of Charlotte has played in managing the transit authority.
It wasn’t the first time leaders of northern Mecklenburg towns expressed discontent with what they say have been failed promises.
Charlotte’s dominance over CATS has been unfair to residents in other parts of the county whose tax dollars also help support the system, said Mecklenburg County Commissioner Leigh Altman and the mayors of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville in a September letter addressed to Lyles.
Altman and the mayors said they want to change the region’s transportation agreement to give more power and oversight over CATS to the Metropolitan Transit Commission, a body that includes voting members from all the cities and towns in the county and non-voting members from surrounding counties.
Their push came during a tumultuous year for CATS, including a change in leadership and train derailment that raised questions about safety.
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This story was originally published October 18, 2023 1:05 PM.
