CATS told the Huntersville board Oct. 20 the Red Line would take 8 to 10 years to build and cost $1.38 billion. Trains would run every 30 minutes at peak, hourly all day.
Commuter trains between Huntersville and uptown Charlotte are still 8 to 10 years away, the Charlotte Area Transit System told the Huntersville Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
That is the official estimate if the Red Line is built the traditional way, CATS officials said. They are studying faster ways to deliver it. The line would cost about $1.38 billion in 2024 dollars.
Brent Cagle, interim CEO of CATS, and the Red Line’s lead project manager gave the update at the board’s Oct. 20 meeting. It is on the town’s YouTube channel, starting about five minutes in. CATS did not post the slides with the agenda.
How the trains would run
The plan has changed from a rush-hour-only commuter line. The project manager told the board the line would now offer:
- a train every 30 minutes in each direction at peak times, roughly 6 to 9 a.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
- a train every hour in each direction the rest of the day, including midday, evenings and weekends
- extra service for special events in uptown Charlotte, such as Carolina Panthers games
Commuter rail lines elsewhere found that riders wanted all-day service after the pandemic, he said, because fewer people work a fixed 9-to-5 schedule.
Three stations in Huntersville
The corridor runs 24 miles with 11 stations, CATS said. The Red Line project page still lists 25 miles and 10 stations. CATS told the board the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority recently approved the locally preferred alternative, the official plan for the line, and added an 11th station, at Camp North End in Charlotte.
Huntersville would have three stops, from south to north. CATS said each one has a different problem to solve:
| Station | Where | The challenge CATS described |
|---|---|---|
| Hambright | Hambright Road, by the Brighton development | The land planned for parking in 2008 has nearly all been built on. CATS and town staff are looking for a parking site. |
| Downtown | Outside Town Hall | Downtown’s small historic lots. CATS is looking at a parking deck east of the platform, north of Huntersville-Concord Road. |
| Sam Furr | Near N.C. 115 and Sam Furr Road (N.C. 73) | Planned as a regional park and ride. Parking has been designed into an approved development nearby. |
The Sam Furr stop is the one the board cited Tuesday when it approved the Northline Row townhomes on N.C. 115.
The timeline
CATS finished a 15% design in 2025. Work on the 30% design has just begun and should take 18 to 24 months. The engineering firm HDR holds that contract.
The steps after that, as CATS described them:
- The federal environmental review. CATS has sent its checklists to the Federal Transit Administration and expects to spend the next 12 to 18 months on it.
- Federal funding. Only after that review can CATS enter the federal program that helps pay for projects like this. A project can stay in that stage for only two years, so CATS will time its entry.
- Construction. The 8-to-10-year estimate assumes the usual sequence of design, then bids, then building. CATS said design-build, construction manager at risk or a public-private partnership could shorten it. It will know more once design reaches 30%.
The city of Charlotte bought the rail corridor, the Norfolk Southern O-Line, in September 2024. It runs right past Town Hall. The Red Line was first designed in 2008 but stalled in 2013, when Norfolk Southern changed its passenger rail policy, according to the CATS project page.
The name may change
One commissioner raised the Red Line’s name, pointing to its negative connotation. CATS said people have asked it to reconsider the name consistently. Staff expect to recommend a new name to the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority as the project moves along.
Microtransit in the meantime
CATS also reported on its on-demand microtransit service in the northern zone, which covers Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson. The service started in February 2025. Cagle gave these figures:
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, extended to 9 p.m. on Oct. 5
- Fare: $2.20, or $1.10 for riders who qualify for a reduced fare
- Fleet: nine vehicles, two of them wheelchair accessible
- Booking: the CATS Pass app or by phone
- Use so far: about 101,000 ride requests completed and nearly 110,000 customers served
The service aims for an average pickup time of 30 minutes or less. It is meeting that on average, Cagle said, but waits run longer at busy times on weekday mornings and afternoons. CATS plans to announce changes to handle peak demand.
Transfers are free. But a rider who starts on microtransit and switches to an express bus pays an 80-cent difference today, because express fares are $3. CATS said that will end when its approved fare changes take effect.
The most popular microtransit destinations are Northlake Shopping Center, Birkdale Village, Davidson College and Northlake Mall. Asked whether the zone could grow east and west, Cagle said that would probably mean splitting it in two. Riders would then have to transfer to travel between Huntersville and Davidson. CATS is still weighing that.
The old 77X express bus is now the 177. It has more trips in the morning and evening, adds midday service and runs on Panthers game days.
What it means for you
- No train before the mid-2030s on the official estimate. Plan around the 177 express bus and microtransit until then.
- If you live near Hambright Road, downtown or Sam Furr Road, station parking is still being decided. Expect public meetings as the 30% design takes shape.
- To try microtransit, book in the CATS Pass app or by phone. The average wait for a pickup is about 30 minutes, longer at rush hour.
- More on getting around town: getting around Huntersville.
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