April 18. There are two more community meetings—one tonight at the North County Library and the last one Saturday at the Sugar Creek Library in Charlotte—where members of the Red Line project team will gather input on a transit line from Charlotte to Lake Norman.
Proponents say a north-south rapid-transit corridor supports “traffic reduction along I-77 while driving economic development through the creation of transit-oriented hubs and their surrounding communities from Charlotte to Mooresville.”
Red Line with 10 stops
The train would run on existing tracks owned by Norfolk Southern, a freight company. Charlotte Area Transit System says Norfolk Southern is are open to discussions about how to use the tracks for commuters.
Tentative plans call for as many as 10 stations on what’s known as the O Line.
Background
The much-touted rail project went off-track in 2013 when Norfolk Southern refused to allow anyone to use their tracks.
Now CATS and Charlotte city leaders say Norfolk Southern is willing to come to the table.
Where is the money?
Officials have raised the possibility of a half-cent to a penny sales tax increase to fund the Red Line, not popular with North Meck residents who have seen scarce benefits around prior transportation taxes.
CATS would need a local funding source to land federal grants, however.
The NC legislature would have to agree to put a referendum on the ballot.
Details
—The full train ride would be 45 minutes.
—A train would arrive every 30 to 60 minutes.
—There are 10 planned stations, possibly more.
Meetings
• Thursday, April 18, 6 to 8 pm
North County Regional Library
16500 Holly Crest Lane, Huntersville
• Saturday, April 20, 10 am to noon
Sugar Creek Library
4045 N. Tryon St., Charlotte
