CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte’s city council has approved financing to purchase 22 miles of a Norfolk Southern rail line for a proposed commuter rail operation.
WCNC-TV reports the council unanimously approved a plan not to exceed $93 million to finance purchase of the NS O-Line from Charlotte to Davidson, north of the city, along with land for a downtown station site. The council approved the purchase itself in September for the long-discussed Red Line commuter rail project [see “Charlotte council approves …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 3, 2024].
The financing plan reimburses the city for the purchases approved in September. Next steps include submitting paperwork to the North Carolina Local Government Commission for approval and a Feb. 24 public hearing on the financing plan.
The city will also seek a 1-cent sales tax increase to pay for the rail project and other elements of a transportation plan. That must be approved by the state assembly before being presented to voters in November.
Actually if you click on the link, you do not get TRAINS NEWSWIRE from last September, you get a local North Carolina news source from yesterday. The two items are nearly identical.
In both items, today’s TRAINS and yesterday’s North Carolina news source, there’s no real analysis of what’s proposed —- projected ridership and ticket revenue, frequency of proposed service, projected capital costs, or projected operational costs. If the state legislature and the local voters both approve the sales tax increase, that’s entirely up to them. Hopefully, legislatures and voters will first ask questions and get answers. This to include what is to happen if revenue falls short and/or costs exceed projections.