Hopes rise for Lynx Red Line revival and rail connectivity

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

The proposed Lynx Red Line would link Charlotte's urban core to towns in north Mecklenburg by rail. Northern Southern has signaled its willingness to discuss selling or leasing its track to the city of Charlotte for the Red Line.

The proposed Lynx Red Line would put Mecklenburg County on track to better connectivity – if some major hurdles can be overcome.

Norfolk Southern is now open to negotiations that would lease or sell its O Line to the city of Charlotte as a part of the transit project, the first step in developing rail service between Charlotte and north Mecklenburg.

The 25-mile Red Line will connect Charlotte’s urban core to the towns of Huntersville, Mooresville, Davidson, and Cornelius running parallel to Interstate 77. The Red Line, which a 2021 report estimates would cost $674 million, is longer than the 19.3-mile Blue Line that opened in 2007 and would connect a larger area.  

“Opening up commuter rail to the north of Charlotte would be a massive win for the city, and the region” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson of Charlotte, whose congressional district includes the Red Line. “It would bring economic growth and improve quality of life for thousands of people.”

Public transit advocates contend the Red Line will reduce traffic on I-77 during peak commuter periods. It would also reduce emission of greenhouse gasses that cause air pollution. Where passenger cars can carry just a few people, a single train can carry more commuters, which keeps more vehicles off the road, resulting in a reduction in emissions that harm the environment.  

“As a fast-growing metropolitan area, like other metropolitan areas, it's essential that we have a robust, efficient, convenient, far reaching transit system,” said Shannon Binns, founder of the nonprofit Sustain Charlotte, an advocacy for environmental equity. “Simply because when you have a lot of people, you can’t efficiently and conveniently move people when everyone's in their own car.”

Binns said the environmental benefits of electric-powered light rail are greater than cars and trucks using internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels. The more people who use the train – whether it’s for errands or work – have long-term advantages.

“From the environmental and health standpoint, we know that cars are our largest source of air pollution,” he said. “So anytime we can help a resident make one less trip in their car and use transit instead, we dramatically improve air quality as well as reducing our contribution to climate change.”

Light rail also provides economic growth people of all economic levels in connected communities. For lower-income people, reliable public transit is a bridge to economic mobility when owning a vehicle isn’t required. “We have tens of thousands of people in Mecklenburg County that don’t have a car,” Binns said, “so this will give them a way to work, to the doctor and to economic opportunities. And, for those that do have a car, it will help them spend less time in traffic, which will improve their quality of life.”

Most of the negative impacts of the Red Line will come in the early stages of production – should negotiations between Norfolk Southern and Charlotte result in a deal.  The Red Line transit project may take a while to finish, causing traffic delays. The end goal is to alleviate this traffic problem, but when construction happens, more traffic will likely result early on.

“I suppose there is a possibility of some inconvenience due to construction,” Binns said. “I will say that the tracks as they pass through towns could create some construction headaches. But the tracks are already in place. They are, however, in need of some repair. But I think this isn’t going to be like other construction projects since the tracks are already in place.”  

Another looming question for this project is, who is going to pay for it? Mass transit initiatives generally tap into federal, state and local funding to pay for construction, but there’s no guarantee the Republican-dominated General Assembly would fund a project in Democratic-controlled Mecklenburg. The towns haven’t signaled their support for tax increases to pay for the Red Line, either.

“There are a few more important steps here,” Binns said. “As far as funding it, we need an additional source of funding dedicated to transportation in our county,” Binns said. “That is where the mobility sales tax comes into play. But it'll be really important that we get the authority from the state to put that on the Mecklenburg County ballot, hopefully next year, to give voters the opportunity to approve a tax that would help pay for the Red Line and any other transportation projects in our county.”     

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