Long-stalled plans to build the Red Line commuter rail to Lake Norman finally took a concrete step forward Monday, with the city of Charlotte closing on its purchase of the Norfolk Southern O Line.
The disused freight tracks running north from Charlotte roughly parallel to I-77 have been the planned route for the Red Line since 1998. Today, the city of Charlotte closed on a $91 million deal to buy the O Line tracks from Norfolk Southern. The railroad also sold the city land around the planned Gateway Station uptown.
Although the city now owns the tracks, the commuter train is still a long way from actually running on them. Now city leaders have to persuade the General Assembly to authorize a referendum to raise the sales tax by 1 cent to pay for the Red Line and other transportation projects…and persuade voters to support it. The soonest that could happen is Nov. 2025.
