[PRCo] Charlotte Light Rail Opening

[Fred Schneider]

I paid a brief visit to Charlotte NC on the last or next to last day  
of February 2007.  CATS had 14 of their 16 Siemens cars on the  
property and expected the remaining two in the next week.   They were  
using them while I was there to train motormen (or motor-persons).   
Target date for opening the entire line has been advanced to November  
26, 2007 with the northern end to me more imminent because it can be  
opened sooner.   This is clearly a stunning example of being ready  
well ahead of schedule.    The heritage trolleys will begin running  
on weekends as soon as the light rail service begins on weekdays.    
Stops will not necessarily be the same.

The city of Pineville NC, which declined to be included at outset of  
the project because they did not want people from South Carolina  
parking in their community to catch the trains, now wants to be  
included.  Like the Ruxton section of Baltimore County that fought to  
be excluded from Baltimore's Central Light Rail Line and changed  
their minds after it opened, now is a little too late.   Extending to  
Pineville now means finding supplemental funds to tunnel under the  
circumferential highway I-485 (beltway or if your British, the orbital).

I have some personal reservations about the Charlotte system because  
the city has only 600+ thousand people in a metropolitan area with  
slightly more than a million people ... roughly the same as  
Memphis.   The population is very dispersed over the landscape in  
single family homes and traffic isn't all that bad.    The link below  
has some nice pictures of the downtown Charlotte skyline.   As I  
think it over, it may, however have a better chance than Memphis and  
San Jose.



http://www.city-data.com/city/Charlotte-North-Carolina.html