North Carolina Railroad Agreement Completed for Charlotte LYNX Blue Line Extension

An agreement has been signed for the lease, construction and operation of the LYNC Blue Line Extension light rail project by the Charlotte Area Transit Systems (CATS), the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) and Norfolk Southern Corporation.

The railroad project is located in the North Carolina Railroad corridor and will cover a distance of 2.7miles starting from East 12th Street to half a mile east of Eastway Drive.

The initial lease period as per the agreement will be 50 years after which it can be renewed for another 50 years. Leasing aspects that have been discussed in the agreement include construction plan review, negotiation of lease and other expenses, fair rental value of the property, and other expected appreciation of the property. The total distance of the LYNX Blue Line Extension is 9.7 mi and is an extension of the already existing light rail line in the Northeast Corridor. Of this distance three miles will be operated by light rail service by 2017. CATS will be responsible for the construction of a bridge over the railroad tier for pedestrians and vehicles in order to improve safety at 36th Street. Additionally CATS will also participate in the construction, operation and maintenance of the Blue Line under an agreement with Norfolk Southern. Though CATS and NCRR will not share tracks they will share the NCRR corridor. Under the agreement, CATS has also been provided with an option to acquire the existing intermodal rail yard located along Brevard Street when Norfolk Southern migrates its inter modal operations to a new facility located in Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com