Charlotte extension opening 16 March

Trains Magazine Transit
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Charlotte Announces Opening Date for Light Rail Expansion

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) North Carolina’s largest city said an expansion of its light rail service will begin the same day the city hosts the opening rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament.

The Charlotte Area Transit System announced that the $1 billion expansion of its light-rail will open March 16. Charlotte is hosting first- and second-round games of the men’s basketball tournament starting March 16…

The expansion of the Blue Line will add more than nine mi… and 11 stations to the system. The new line runs from uptown Charlotte to UNC Charlotte.

The expansion will give basketball fan

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By DAVID BORAKS

The Lynx Blue Line extension from uptown to UNC Charlotte opens in just a month. CATS has been running empty trains on the new light rail tracks since January. On Tuesday, a few citizens were the first to try it out, and they’re already imagining the possibilities.

A Blue Line train with a sign saying “not in service” arrived around 10:30 a.m. at 9th Street Station, not far from UNC Charlotte’s uptown campus. A hand-picked group of nine people was already on the train, after starting their journey at the Blue Line’s southern end, at I-485. Michael Fleming explained how he wound up on the train.