Sept. 10. By Dave Vieser. The Red Line Commuter Rail Project, designed to serve Cornelius and other North Meck communities, took another step forward as Charlotte finalized the purchase of the O-Line from the Norfolk Southern for $74 million. Charlotte City Council voted 10-1 last week to approve the purchase of the right of way.
The ROW comprised about 22 miles of track and surrounding land.
Quotable
Michael Osborne
“If approved by voters, the Red Line will provide an alternative source of revenue to the region as well as future transit options that we otherwise would never have. Cornelius stands to receive over $5 million annually that can be put towards our roads. To put that in perspective, less than $3 million per year is currently budgeted to go towards our debt service for existing road bonds. It is rare that all of Mecklenburg (and 30 percent that don’t live in Mecklenburg) have a specific investment opportunity in our roads and our transit. While the wounds of being promised rail in the distant past still sting, this proposed legislation was created with guardrails to prevent repeating the mistakes of the past,” said Cornelius Town Commissioner Michael Osborne.
Sales tax referendum
The city also adopted a resolution in favor of a sales tax referendum designed to give voters the opportunity to display their preference for or against a one cent increase in the countywide sales tax in November 2025 to fund transit and road improvements.
The resolution comes on the heels of a joint letter sent out last week by the Mayors of Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville in favor of the sales tax referendum.
It is still unclear how opposition, such as that expressed by the town of Matthews in the southeast section of the county, will impact any forthcoming decision by the General Assembly in Raleigh, which must approve placing the referendum on the November 2025 ballot.
Details
The Red Line is a component of the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s 2030 Transit System Plan as well as the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan, providing a regional connection between Uptown Charlotte and the northern towns in Mecklenburg County.
If approved, the Red Line rail service will provide up to 42 one-way trips per day. The rail agreement includes terms that allow Norfolk Southern to continue its existing freight service operations. The agreement between the city and Norfolk Southern includes an option for potential expansion of the right-of-way into Iredell County and Mooresville, should those jurisdictions allow expansion.
Red Line with 10 stops
