Commuter rail – westward ho?

Commuter rail to … I bet you’re thinking, ” … to Davidson and North Mecklenburg.” A rail line to the north is one of CATS’ top priorities, to be built as soon as the feds cough up some money to build it.

In Gaston County, though, they’re thinking commuter rail from Charlotte to Gastonia. The Gaston Gazette recently reported on the City of Gastonia’s first estimates of what it would cost to build a commuter line on the old Piedmont & Northern railbed, which runs from Charlotte to Mount Holly and on to Gastonia: $265 million to $300 million.

Part of the route’s right of way – between Mount Holly and Charlotte – is controlled by CSX and carries freight. The N.C. Rail Division of the N.C. DOT owns the 11.6 miles from Mount Holly to Gastonia, plus a 3-mile spur to Belmont. Here’s a link to a map of the P&N line in Gaston County. And here’s a link to the NCDOT’s page showing the rail rights of way it owns. The P&N was built by tobacco and power company magnate James B. Duke, and carried passengers until 1951.

At the moment, of course, there’s no state, federal or local funding for this rail project. And the Charlotte Area Transit System (aka CATS) doesn’t have the P&N line as one of its five proposed transit corridors. It’s just an idea – but one with support among some key Gaston County leaders, who see a stronger connection to Charlotte as a way to boost economic prospects in a county where unemployment last month was 13.3 percent.

Reminder of terminology: “Commuter rail” typically means a passenger train akin to the inter-city Amtrak service, although some commuter rail uses newer technology, and the cars are usually less comfy. Stations are relatively far apart compared with subway, streetcar, light rail service. But don’t call it “heavy rail.” That’s a term for a system with a powerful electric rail down there with the tracks. It’s the “third rail,” the kind you should never, ever touch – hence the expression, “Social Security (or any other untouchable policy) is the third rail of American politics.” Subways, not commuter trains, tend to be “heavy rail.”