CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The city of Charlotte and Norfolk Southern have reached agreement for Charlotte to acquire NS’ O-Line route north of the city for use as a commuter rail line, WSOC-TV reports.
An email from City Manager Marcus Jones informed officials in Mecklenburg County of the non-binding agreement on May 15; that email was sent by Councilman Ed Driggs to other city council members four days later.
The email said the agreement is non-binding as the city continues its due diligence, but a final agreement could be completed by the end of September “should the towns and county choose to move forward with pursuing sales tax legislation.” A one-cent sales tax referendum would be needed to fund the project, as well as road improvement work; the state legislature would have to approve such a ballot measure.
Jones told a city council meeting on Tuesday that the referendum would be in 2025.
The long-discussed Red Line project would create a 25-mile, 10-station route between downtown Charlotte and the community of Mt. Mourne; as of 2021, the proposal had a projected cost of $674 million. The concept dates to 1998, but Norfolk Southern has long opposed the use of its right-of-way. That changed last year when the railroad indicated it was willing to “consider … a possible transition” [see “Charlotte commuter rail proposal revived …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 19, 2023].
More information on the Red Line is available here.
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