LYNX Silver Line

Overview

Type

Light rail

System

LYNX Rapid Transit Services

Locale

Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina

Termini

CPCC Levine (south)
Uptown/Gateway Station (north)

Stations

Services

Silver Line

Operation

Planned opening

unknown

Owner

Charlotte Area Transit System

Operator(s)

Charlotte Area Transit System

Technical

Line length

13.5 miles (21.7 km)

Route map

Charlottetowne

Central Avenue

Pecan

Morningside

Coliseum/Ovens

Amity Gardens

Sharon Amity

Conference

Independence Boulevard

Monroe Road

Village Lake

Galleria

Matthews Township Pkwy

Monroe Road

NC 51

Downtown Matthews

/Hospital

Sportsplex

I‑485 (

Governor James

G. Martin Freeway

)

CPCC Levine

The Silver Line is a proposed light rail extension for the LYNX network in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Silver Line, or Southeast Corridor, would serve as a light rail line between the CPCC Levine Campus in Matthews and the proposed Gateway Station in Uptown Charlotte.

It is proposed to follow a southeasterly path primarily along Independence Boulevard, as it extends through southeastern Mecklenburg County. To be built at a cost of over $1 billion, the line would be 13.5 miles (21.7 km) long and have 13 stations, 8-10 of which would be park-and-ride. Currently, there is no firm construction schedule in place.

The prospect of developing a light rail line between Matthews and Uptown along Independence Boulevard was initially evaluated in 1985. By 1997, the Charlotte City Council voted, at the recommendation of an independent transit panel, for the development of a busway in the median of Independence in lieu of light rail. The decision to develop a busway over light rail was based on overall costs of $126 million for a busway versus $300 million for light-rail. However, by 1999 delays in the construction of the busway resulted in a renewed grassroots effort of rail advocates to have light rail placed along Independence. As a result of this campaign, Representative Robin Hayes, who served as a member of the House Transportation Committee, to design the busway in such a manner as to be adapted for light rail when it can be economically justified. In 2002, the Metropolitan Transit Commission recommended that the Independence corridor see the construction, but that as part of the initial engineering studies, light rail accommodation be considered.

By 2006, a study released by the Charlotte Area Transit System indicated that the cost of light rail along the corridor would be roughly double that of a busway and have fewer riders. The estimates stated light rail on Independence would be 12.7 miles (20.4 km) in length at a cost of $585 million, with a projected ridership of 14,400 in 2030; and stated a busway would be 13.5 miles (21.7 km) in length at a cost of $315 to $325 million, with a projected ridership of 16,000 in 2030. In September, the MTC voted to delay on determining whether a busway or light rail should be built along the corridor until 2011.

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Wikipedia