Charlotte reaches landmark deal to buy Red Line tracks, land for $91M

The City of Charlotte, if council approves, will buy 22 miles of Norfolk Southern's O-Line for $74 million and land near the future Charlotte Gateway Station for $17 million.

Why it matters: After decades of dreaming of a commuter rail line connecting Uptown Charlotte to north Mecklenburg County towns, the city has a deal with the railroad operator to acquire the necessary tracks.

• "You just don't get the chance to do [corridor preservation] very often," Brent Cagle, interim CEO of the Charlotte Area Transit System, told reporters during a media briefing Monday afternoon. "When you do, you do what you have to do to get that corridor."

Between the lines: This rare opportunity to lock down the Red Line corridor has propelled the city's otherwise sluggish efforts to get a 1-cent transit sales tax referendum on the 2025 ballot, which would fund roads and other modes of transit.

• The Red Line was promised when the existing half-cent sales tax was passed in 1998. But the project never came to fruition because Norfolk Southern adjusted its policy in 2013 and refused to share its lines with passenger trains.
• Cagle says the Red Line is "critical to all conversations related to the sales tax increase. This really is something that, from the northern towns' view, is a non-starter."
• It's unclear why Norfolk Southern had a change of heart and returned to the bargaining table last year (although the company's toxic derailment in Ohio is expected to cost over $1 billion).

Context: The Red Line's timeline and total price tag are unknown. The city is updating years-old designs and is also reconsidering where to put stations .

• The train could end in either Davidson or Mooresville. There is an option to lease or buy 7 more miles through Iredell County for $17.75 million to extend the train to Mount Mourne.
• The city would be reimbursed for the O-Line by a future regional transit authority, if legislation passes as drafted.

Zoom in: Norfolk Southern would continue to serve some freight customers on the tracks under the proposed agreement, Cagle said.

• The 1.6 acres to be purchased is along Graham Street, near Bank of America Stadium. Cagle says there's just enough room on the stretch of property to build tracks that route the train to a platform.
• The timeline of the long-awaited Charlotte Gateway Station is still unknown, although this construction would not impact its opening, Cagle said.

Flashback: This isn't the first time the city has preserved land for rail. The Blue Line light rail corridor was purchased before the half-cent sales tax was passed.

• City leaders view this as a risky financial move, but also an opportunity worth seizing. If the Red Line isn't built, the city could sell the tracks. Norfolk Southern would have the right to counter any offer.

What's next: Council will vote to approve the purchase on Sept. 3, providing enough time to prepare the documents necessary to make a Sept. 9 closing deadline, set by Norfolk Southern.

• But questions linger about whether the proposed sales tax spending plan would afford both the Red Line and the east-west Silver Line light rail through east Charlotte to Matthews. The issue is giving some council members pause.
• "Are we creating two cities where one part has access to more efficient and effective transportation and one part does not?" council member Dimple Ajmera asked during a Monday night meeting.