Charlotte Gateway Station

[Bob Roberts]

This afternoon NCDOT selected a developer for the Charlotte Gateway Station public-private partnership. This selection will begin the planning and design process for Gateway Station (a downtown inter-city and commuter rail station) plus a large complex of office space, retail and residential space.

Since the developer was today there is little information on construction schedule or design specifics. At this point is does appear that the partnership in combination with the 2009 ARRA funds for trackwork and service yard that the necessary funding is in place for station construction. A downtown Charlotte station will form the Southern end of SEHSR, the Piedmont and Carolinian routes and (hopefully) the terminus of commuter rail to Davidson and (possibly) Mooresville.

Gateway Station will provide intercity rail riders with direct pedestrian access to Panthers stadium (five blocks), Time Warner Cable Arena (seven blocks), the cultural district (Mint and Bectchler museums and Knight Theater) (six blocks), Charlotte Convention Center (eight blocks), NASCAR Hall of Fame (nine blocks), a new AAA baseball stadium (one block) (opens in spring 2014) the largest concentration of hotels in North Carolina and a business district employing over 80,000. Unfortunately, due to the location of the NCRR / NS tracks through Charlotte, Gateway Station will be seven blocks from Charlotte's light rail system. A streetcar connector is proposed but funding as not yet been identified.

Gateway Station will replace the current Amtrak station which is a very dangerous 1.5 mile walk to downtown.

Given the considerable problems associated with existing stations in Charlotte and Raleigh, new stations at each end of the line should substantially increase ridership on the Piedmont service (and the Carolinian if its capacity can be increased). It is my great hope that Gateway Station will _eventually_ serve as a stop on a shuttle route between Columbia and Winston-Salem (via the shuttered O-line), a DC-Atlanta day train and commuter rail from Gastonia to Salisbury.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/bl ... l?page=all

[SouthernRailway]

Amtrak's problem in Charlotte is lack of visibility; people just don't know that it exists, since the trains don't really pass through highly-populated areas. From my office window when I worked in uptown Charlotte, I could see NS freight trains go along the tracks where the new station will be, and the trains will cross above some high-traffic streets, so this is great!

Hines is a first-rate developer.

All good news. Surely the free uptown trolleys (not light rail- buses that look like trolleys and circle uptown) will be extended to the new station so that people won't have to walk the few blocks to the office core uptown (as they will not- people in Charlotte will not walk places).

[Station Aficionado]

IIRC correctly, Gateway Station will be built on the site of the former SOU station (demolished in the '60's). Let's hope that they can get moving quickly on this.

[Bob Roberts]

IIRC correctly, Gateway Station will be built on the site of the former SOU station (demolished in the '60's). Let's hope that they can get moving quickly on this.

I believe you are correct. The station was torn down when the tracks were moved above grade in 1962. It was a great looking station IMO

http://mainstreet.lib.unc.edu/projects/ ... rs/view/14

[Jeff Smith]

Hope I'm not stealing Mr. Roberts' thunder, but good news (or at least a start) on the station front for Charlotte: Charlotte Observer

N.C. DOT wins $25M federal grant for Gateway Station

The N.C. Department of Transportation has won a $25 million federal grant to help build the Gateway Station uptown, which would be a hub for Amtrak, a commuter rail line, local and long-distance buses and a streetcar.

The station would be built at West Trade and Graham streets between Third and Fourth wards.

Despite the grant, the project remains in limbo.

It’s unclear if the Charlotte Area Transit System will ever have enough money to build the commuter rail line to Lake Norman, which would be a major component of the station. And the city doesn’t have a firm commitment to extend the streetcar toward the station, though Charlotte believes that project will move forward and be finished by the end of the decade.

The total project has been estimated from $150 million to $200 million, and it’s unclear who would provide the rest of the money.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/l ... rylink=cpy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[runningwithscalpels]

I'm glad to hear they're planning on building a new Charlotte station. The current one is a dump and not in the best of neighborhoods.

My parents weren't particularly thrilled about having to pick me up there when I took the Carolinian last year.

[ferroequinologist]

Has any thought been given to a Charlotte Airport station? If I'm reading my map correctly, the route the Crescent currently takes passes just north of the terminals. Could be a convenient way to get access to the airport, and with CLT's position close to highways, also a good spot for park-and-ride for people coming from elsewhere in NC and taking the train. Maybe Amtrak could even code-share with American Airlines for the train to the airport, the way they do with United at EWR.

[west point]

Maybe there could be a complete design of the new Charlotte station. Design it so parts could be guilt incrementally as funds become available. Start with platforms, tracks, switches , & small temp station. Hate the temp station but Charlotte's establishment should get construction going forward ?
Airport station ? Maybe good idea if there was service from Atlanta, But at present downtown is much better for passenger convince and would increase Raleigh - CLT trip times .

[Bob Roberts]

Maybe there could be a complete design of the new Charlotte station. Design it so parts could be guilt incrementally as funds become available. Start with platforms, tracks, switches , & small temp station. Hate the temp station but Charlotte's establishment should get construction going forward ?
Airport station ? Maybe good idea if there was service from Atlanta, But at present downtown is much better for passenger convince and would increase Raleigh - CLT trip times .

This is essentially what is currently planned and, thanks to TIGER VII, should happen. The TIGER grant should handle the trackwork necessary and, with some additional existing funds from the city, will build the temporary station (which I believe will be similar to Norfolk's). The original Gateway station plan (2012) involved an extensive public-private partnership with Hines to create a massive amount of office and retail space adjacent the station on NCDOT owned land. Hines backed away from that agreement due to uncertainties about track construction and layout. The bigger station, funded in large part from the PPP is still the long-term plan. There is still demand for the office space and the uncertainty of the site plan will be reduced by the TIGER funded project so barring a real estate industry collapse the original Gateway plan could get underway quickly post TIGER.

That said, the station was designed to accommodate 30 daily commuter trains to Huntersville, Davidson etc. in addition to SEHSR and regular Amtrack service. That project is unlikely to occur in the next 10-15 years due to the failure of NCDOT to get the CSX-NS grade crossing separated with ARRA funds. There is no current plan to revisit the grade separation and CSX is unlikely to allow that many new trains cross its tracks.

A CLT station is on the books and part of the SEHSR plans, however since that area is on NS owned tracks (not the NCRR) its going to be _very_ expensive to cover those four miles from downtown. I am guessing that CATS will create semi-rapid rail (it may be a streetcar) to the airport before we see heavy rail there.

[ferroequinologist]

Airport station ? Maybe good idea if there was service from Atlanta, But at present downtown is much better for passenger convince and would increase Raleigh - CLT trip times .

I was imagining a second Charlotte station by the airport, in addition to a new downtown one. Basically service would be extended a couple miles out to the airport along the already-used-by-Amtrak tracks. Atlanta would make sense too (and Greenville-Spartanburg on the way), but I imagine service from other NC points to CLT would be useful. CLT-GSO and CLT-RDU are currently busy flights that could be competitive for rail.

[Jeff Smith]

Update: you may be waiting a while... Charlotte Observer

Fair-use:

Amtrak was supposed to be in downtown Charlotte in a year or two. The new date: 2024.

In October 2015, former U.S. transportation secretary Anthony Foxx awarded Charlotte a $30 million federal grant to build a new Amtrak station uptown, known as Charlotte Gateway Station.
...
But the temporary station idea has been all but shelved. And now the Charlotte Area Transit System doesn’t think it can have a station ready until 2024, according to information provided to City Council.

That means passengers will continue to use the small, dingy station off North Tryon Street and West 23rd Street, which is a 30-minute walk to uptown. Gateway Station is planned for Graham, Fourth and West Trade streets near BB&T Ballpark.
...
The new construction timeline calls for the city to begin moving utilities in 2018.

After that, CATS would start making improvements to the track and signals, as well as building the platforms. That’s expected to be finished in 2021.
...

[SouthernRailway]

That is outrageous. If they cannot build a new station within a year or two with land already there and grants of over $100 million, everybody involved should be fired.

Brightline shows the strength of the private sector vs. governmental incompetence.

I've worked with CATS and the CEO at the time was excellent, so I don't know what the specific problem is.

[Jeff Smith]

More land needed: Axios.com

Massive rail facility would stifle South End’s growth, opponents say

In the midst of the South End boom, the state is planning to use large tracts in a key part of the neighborhood for a train maintenance facility expansion. The controversial project could take up a brewery, historic buildings and the site of a proposed mixed-use development, according to conceptual plans obtained by Axios.
...
Why it matters: NCDOT faces resistance as it pushes forward on expanding its Charlotte Passenger Rail Facility. It says the expansion of the industrial land it already owns is necessary to support the Charlotte Gateway Station, a planned transportation hub at West Trade and Graham streets.
...
Driving the news: NCDOT says the Charlotte Passenger Rail Facility will support bringing first-class passenger rail to Uptown. They’re trying to align the timing with the Charlotte Gateway Station and the delivery of new trains in 2027, Jason Orthner, director of the rail division, tells Axios.
...

[Bob Roberts]

^ This project is about a mile from my house. There is lots of NIMBY peal clutching about how NCDOT may expand an existing (but still unused) maintenance facility on heavily contaminated, former industrial land. Despite the rhetoric, there are no private development prospects for this land which is both environmentally and topographically challenged. The parcel at issue borders a busy, double-tracked mainline rail and an interstate highway. This yard is connected to the Gateway Platform (which has been finished for a while) via state owned tracks. It is highly unlikely any other site for Charlotte equipment service can be found that does not involve lots of $$$ to NS for track access.

[STrRedWolf]

The only thing I can see here that's truly complicating things is the road that several of the tracks are crossing over. That road needs to be tunneled under with pedestrian access to get it grade separated. Other than that. some compaction against the NS main will probably help with the land issues.