CATS Light Rail Success Moves Transit Plan Ahead

Serving the south corridor of Charlotte, N.C., since November 2007, the Charlotte Area Transit System's (CATS) successful LYNX Blue Line (LBL) light rail system is one of many planned city projects, including a light rail extension slated to open around 2016.

The 9.6-mile LBL surpassed its 20-year projected ridership within its first year in service and has provided more than 12 million rides since opening. As part of its 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan, CATS also plans to create bus rapid transit, commuter rail, fixed-route bus lines, streetcar and facility improvements in an integrated transit and land use approach.

The LBL's 15 stations and seven park-and-rides serve more than 15,000 Mecklenburg County daily commuters as well as special-events traffic, nearby residents, lunch-time riders and customers visiting historic Charlotte.

Thanks to integration with the CATS bus system, customers can get off the LBL at a station and walk right to their next bus, and vice versa, says Carolyn Flowers, CEO of CATS. "[It's] very easy for customers to transfer from one to another."

Currently, the LBL has a 99 percent on-time service rate, according to CATS. "Everybody wants their rail next," says Jean Leier, CATS manager of public and community relations. "It's a good problem to have. We can't build them fast enough."

Scaling Down the Project

During the planning process, establishing light rail in an area that did not have previous rail history proved to be the greatest challenge for CATS, Flowers says. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, rising prices of steel and the onset of the recession were also major obstacles.

"A lot of labor went down to the New Orleans area to help clean up after [Hurricane Katrina]," says John Muth, CATS deputy director. As a result of various cost increases and funding issues, CATS decided to reduce the scope of the project.

"We cut [the length of the platforms] from three-car platforms to two-car platforms to try and save some money," Muth says. "So, not only did we put a bit of extra money in, but we also had to cut some things from the project."

Despite some setbacks, the LBL has proven to be a great success for Charlotte and continues to draw riders, en masse, on a daily basis. In addition to rising gas prices, Muth attributes the great customer response to the land use ordinances CATS put in place to encourage transit area development around LBL stations.

"The city had a $50 million infrastructure program that built and expanded sidewalks and bicycle access onto our station areas," Muth adds. "As soon as we opened, [customers] were out there using the system."

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Extending the LYNX

Due to the success of the LBL, CATS is moving forward with plans to add a 9.4-mile LYNX Blue Line Extension (BLE) that will serve the city's Northeast Corridor and reduce congestion on Interstate 85.

The BLE will run from Charlotte's 7th Street and terminate at the University of North Carolina — Charlotte (UNC-Charlotte) campus. In addition to 11 stations, the extension will include four park-and-rides with about 3,000 spaces, 18 light rail vehicles and a number of other additions. The estimated total cost for the project at this point is $961 million total.

"Once the extension is built, you'll be able to get on the southern terminus and take it all the way up to the northern part of Charlotte," Leier says. "Whether going up there for work, school, or entertainment, it's going to create more connectivity in the area for our customer."

The BLE is expected to begin revenue operations in November 2016 or early 2017, with a projected ridership of 24,500 on average weekday trips by 2035, Flowers says. "The bus ridership in that corridor is now our highest ridership line and, so, we will be able to provide a higher level of productivity and mobility options to that corridor."

The economic climate also has proven to be a challenge for the BLE project in similar ways to the challenges CATS faced developing the LBL. As a result, the BLE has undergone a 20 percent reduction in scope, removing about $200 million in cost from the project, Flowers says.

Some of the cuts have included parking area modifications, reducing the fleet size and shortening the terminus to UNC-Charlotte instead of Interstate 485. By shortening the terminus about 1.1 miles, the BLE project was able to save an estimated $92 million. One of the other important cost-saving recommendations for the project is to run two-car trains every 7.5 minutes, initially, and, eventually, switch over to three-car trains around the year 2025.

Organizing a Streetcar Line

The City of Charlotte also will be moving forward on its Streetcar Starter Project, a plan that was awarded an Urban Circulator Grant of about $25 million from the FTA last July.

The streetcar line will initially be built to run the length of 1.5 miles with six stops and three trolleys. This is part of an overall planned 10-mile streetcar line. CATS and the City of Charlotte expect the starter project to be completed around 2015.