Charlotte's decades-old plans for the Red Line commuter rail to north Mecklenburg and Mooresville just got an unexpected boost. Norfolk Southern, which owns the freight rail lines the train would run on, has long refused to negotiate. But in a recent letter to Charlotte leaders, Norfolk Southern executives now say, hey, maybe we can make a deal. For more, we turn now to Tony Mecia of the Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: All right, Tony, let's start with the refresher course. What is the Red Line? And why hasn't it been built yet?
Tony Mecia: The Red Line is an existing freight line that goes between Charlotte and northern Mecklenburg, actually up into Mooresville in Iredale County. And for more than 20 years, leaders in Charlotte have sort of eyed it as a possibility of having commuter rail, passenger rail, between the northern towns and Charlotte. But it hasn't gotten built because Norfolk Southern, which controls the line, has said that it needs it for freight and that it's incompatible with passenger rail use.
Terry: OK, so what's changed? What are Norfolk Southern executives and local leaders saying now? And why now?
Mecia: Well, it's interesting. In the last few months, you have local leaders in Charlotte kind of talk a little bit more about the Red Line, saying they see progress and they think things are encouraging. Didn't really know what was behind that. It turns out that Norfolk Southern had sent a letter to the city in July saying that it was potentially willing to sell or lease this section of track for passenger rail, which would be a big deal -- because for 20 years they’ve been saying the exact opposite.
It's not clear why exactly the railroad changed its mind. The Norfolk Southern spokeswoman wouldn't comment on the letter. It sounds as though there's some discussions going on between the city and Norfolk Southern over potentially using that for passenger rail service. We don't know exactly where those stand, but city officials are optimistic in a way that they haven't been in previous years. They say they're encouraged by the fact that Norfolk Southern is potentially interested.
I talked to Ed Driggs this week, who's the chair of the City Council's transportation committee. And he said something that has been insurmountable is now potentially surmountable. So it's potentially rolling away one of several obstacles to getting the city of Charlotte's larger transit plan accomplished.
Terry: So what happens now? This is like the opening step in a really long, uncertain process, right?
Mecia: Yeah, I’d say it's the opening step. I think Norfolk Southern and the city are going to continue to talk. We probably won't hear very many details about those until there's some sort of a resolution. This doesn't mean that the transit plan is going to get done, or that there will necessarily ever be passenger rail service between northern Mecklenburg and Charlotte. There's still a lot of unknowns. There's still a lot of things that have to fall into place for this to happen. The state legislature would need to sign off on a referendum for residents to vote. Residents would have to pass it. They need money from the federal government. There are a whole bunch of things that still have to happen. But this is sort of a first step toward potentially getting that to go.
Terry: On now to an update to a story you've brought us over the past few years, former Charlotte tourism chief Tim Newman is back in jail in South Carolina. Remind us about Newman's troubled history, and what's going on now?
Mecia: Tim Newman was the head of Charlotte Center City Partners as well as the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. And since then, he's had a sort of a string of legal trouble. He was in jail in Georgetown County, South Carolina, for a couple of years on charges of threatening to blow up a dam. He was released after pleading to a misdemeanor.
But last week he was arrested again in Bishopville, South Carolina, which is northeast of Columbia. Police there said he threatened the security guard at a school and the school went on lockdown. As of right now, he's in jail in Kershaw County, South Carolina, on charges of violating his probation. So more legal troubles, it sounds like, for Tim Newman.
Terry: Yeah. Finally, you report there's a big unveiling planned at Charlotte-Douglas tomorrow. What is it?
Mecia: Queen Charlotte, who has been out of sight at Charlotte’s airport since October of 2020, is making her triumphant return. Public unveiling tomorrow, as you mentioned, Marshall. She's a 15-foot-tall bronze statue. She's going to be on a pedestal in the main lobby. They're pulling off the plastic and revealing her. She had been in Seagrove getting a makeover. You might also recall, Marshall, she had become a little bit popular in the last few years with the Netflix show “Bridgerton.” Now she's ready to come back and anchor the terminal lobby expansion project, which is still ongoing. Still, construction at the airport. But people will be able to see Queen Charlotte again, the city's namesake.
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