Updated Wednesday, 7:52 a.m.
By DAVID BORAKS
and CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

The Red Line Regional Rail Project is facing another major roadblock this week: Norfolk Southern Corp., which owns the tracks it would run on, is balking at the idea of commuter and freight rail operating on the same line.

In a meeting with N.C. Department of Transportation officials Jan. 11 – the first between the DOT and Norfolk Southern since planning for the rail was revived last year – company officials raised a long list of questions. And in a followup letter to the DOT’s top Red Line official, the company’s passenger policy director expressed “fundamental” concerns over the feasibility of the Red Line project. (See the text of the letter below.) Read the full story

Backers of the proposed Red Line Commuter Rail Project are seeking approval from area governments, saying all must be on board for the plan to work. But there’s another player in the background that determine whether the project goes forward: Norfolk Southern Corp., which owns the tracks north of Charlotte. And the Charlotte Business Journal reported Friday that Norfolk Southern officials have lots of questions about the project including whether commuter service is viable on the line.

LINK: Jan. 20, 2012, Charlotte Business Journal, “Norfolk Southern is not on board with Charlotte transit plan.” – Reporter Erik Spanberg reports on Norfolk Southern’s “broad range of concerns” and questions about the project.

The Iredell County Commission’s vote Tuesday withholding support for the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Project came after nearly an hour of questions and discussion among commissioners. We offer audio replays of main comments from commissioners, as well as a reaction to the vote by John Woods, Davidson’s mayor and chair of the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s Red Line Task Force. Read the full story

Iredell County Commission Chair Steve Johnson speaks during Tuesday's meeting. (Christina Ritchie Rogers/DavidsonNews.net)

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
and DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

STATESVILLE – Iredell County commissioners stopped short of killing the Red Line Regional Rail Project Tuesday night, though they may have only delayed the inevitable. In a 5-0 vote, commissioners approved a statement saying they would not support the project unless concerns about financing plans and future development are addressed. Read the full story

Map shows locations of potential stations and financing districts. Click to download the PDF.

$452 million project won’t happen without all area governments in, task force chair says

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

MOORESVILLE – Supporters of the Red Line Regional Rail Project north of Charlotte began their sales campaign in earnest Tuesday at a meeting of about 150 area elected and appointed officials. Leaders from across the region were there to hear the pitch, from Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx and Mecklenburg County Commission chair Harold Cogdell to town commissioners from the Lake Norman area.

There were plenty of skeptics in the crowd at the Charles Mack Citizens Center: local officials with questions about financing, retirees worried about higher taxes, and conservatives philosophically opposed to rail transit. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

After a year of work, consultants on Wednesday will unveil a funding strategy for the proposed Red Line commuter rail project from Charlotte to Mooresville. Their report will come at a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission at 5:30 Wednesday at Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center in Charlotte.

Officials and consultants also will share their draft financing plan with local officials and citizens at a public meeting in Mooresville on Dec. 13. Read the full story

NC DOT deputy secretary Paul Morris (right) answered a question at Thursday's meeting. With him were consultant Mark Briggs (left) and Davidson Mayor John Woods, who chairs the Red Line Task Force. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

HUNTERSVILLE – State and local officials on Thursday outlined a new approach to developing a commuter rail line from Charlotte to the Lake Norman area. They’re now pitching the 25-mile train line as an economic development initiative that would move freight as well as commuters. And they are proposing to create a new regional transit authority that would work across government lines to plan and raise money for the Red Line project. Read the full story

We’ve seen Charlotte Area Transit System’s Village Rider buses pass by on Main Street countless times, but realized we had no idea where the North Meck Village Rider actually went. So this week, we ventured a bit farther out of the area, riding almost the entire loop of the No. 97 Village Rider, and making a stop at the North County Regional Library on the way. Read more about our trip in THE GUIDE»