BasicRailPlans

"Basic Rail Plan's"

"City Plans"

Corridor System Plan.

North & Northeast Corridor.

2010 Plan.

Northwest Corridor.

2025 Plan.

3rd Ward Vision Plan.

**Note: 3rd Ward Vision Plan is a threat
of development in Elmwood and Pinewood
cemeteries. These plans have seen very
little change in content.

Railways:

The North Corridor is traversed by several railroad lines with widely varying
characteristics. Norfolk Southern (NS) "O" Line traverses the entire length of
the corridor. The CSX line that was formerly the Seaboard Coast Line runs
across the southern end of the corridor. It crosses under the Brookshire
Freeway near the ADM plant just north of the beginning of the "O" Line, and
crosses the "O" Line alignment at grade in the same vicinity. The NS main line
between Washington and Atlanta forms the eastern boundary of the corridor
between North Graham Street and the Center City terminal at the Multi-Modal
Center.

At the extreme northern side of the corridor a portion of the NS main line,
in the vicinity of Ninth Street to the point where the "O" Line diverges from
running parallel to North Graham Street near the community of Derita, lies
on the boundary of the Northeast corridor and the north Corridor.

Norfolk Southern "O" Line:

The "O" Line is a single-track main line that diverges from the NS Atlanta
Washington main line at the ADM plant and proceeds north through
Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville to join the NS route
between Asheville and Salisbury at Barber Junction, east of Statesville.

The portion of the line between the ADM plant and the Statesville Road
crossing is out of service and the crossing of the CSX track just south
of Seaboard Street has been removed.

Access from Charlotte to the "O" Line currently exists via a cutoff track
this leaves the NS Charlotte Yard just north of 30th Street and proceeds
west, parallel and to the south of 36th Street, to Atando Junction at North
Graham Street and Atando Avenue.

The line is basically used in light-density freight service. Customers
between Davidson and Charlotte are served by a road switcher out of
Charlotte; customers north of Davidson are served by a road switcher
from Barber. The major shipper on the line, Ameristeel, typically
receives service from Charlotte six days a week.

The service from Barber is less frequent, serving a customer north of
Mooresville two or three times per week. However, the Barber switcher
travels to Davidson to pick up empty cars set off there by the Charlotte
switcher.

Amtrak uses the cutoff track between Charlotte Yard and Atando Junction
to turn the Carolinian, this terminates in Charlotte, in the early mornings.
The Piedmont, which arrives from Raleigh in mid-morning and returns to
Raleigh in late afternoon is turned at mid-day.

Both these trains are subsidized by the state of North Carolina but are operated
by Amtrak. The wyes at Atando Junction enables the Amtrak crews to make the
turn-a-round. Atando Junction is the nearest point to the current Charlotte
Amtrak station where this maneuver can be accomplished.

All North Corridor commuter rail and DMU alternatives assume use of the
"O" Line all the way from its southern end to Mooresville. It will be necessary
to avoid unnecessary disruption of service to existing freight customers on the
"O" Line. Depending on the type of equipment selected, operation of passenger
service on the "O" Line could force a strict time separation of freight traffic.

A relatively small window in the late evening and overnight hours would be
allotted to serve freight customers. Further analysis at later stages of project
development will be required to determine the extent to which customers can
accommodate overnight pickup and set off of cars, and the extent to which track
modifications may be required.

If FRA-compliant equipment, such as locomotive - hauled coaches, is used in
the commuter rail service, the possibility exists for track-sharing. The feasibility
of actually implementing such an operation depends in large measure on what
organization is dispatching the trains (in terms of reliability of passenger
schedules) and the adequacy of available passing sidings.

The need to preserve access for turning passenger trains is less clear, and
depends on when and how the proposed Multi-Modal Center is developed.
If the track layout enables trains from the north terminating in Charlotte to
pull through the station and continue to Charlotte Junction, doing that may
possibly be preferable to using the "O" Line.

CSX. Line:

A CSX single-track main line runs through the North Corridor between the "O"
Line and the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR) line, roughly paralleling I-277 and
continuing in a north- westerly direction to Mt. Holly Junction and easterly to
Monroe. The CSX line crosses the NS main line at a diamond crossing a few
hundred feet east of the former diamond crossing between the "O" Line and the
CSX track. Traffic through the crossing is controlled by a NS dispatcher at a
remote location. Continuing east of the crossing, the CSX line passes by the
former Seaboard Air Line passenger station, crosses the NCRR at grade in the
vicinity of Brevard and 12th Streets, and continues in a southeasterly direction
toward Matthews.

  •The CSX route is not as heavily traveled as the NS main line. It is not
uncommon to observe a CSX train waiting for clearance to cross the NS line.

• Eastbound trains waiting for clearance may currently block the former "O"
Line crossing location; westbound trains likewise block the NCRR / CSX
crossing.

•   Note: Gannet Flemming has done a survey in regards to this issue.
They are plotting out a plan to lower the grade of the CSX
line, so the NS line can go over it. Thus eliminating a problem.

It is extremely unlikely that CSX would allow DMU equipment that is not
FRA-compliant to cross its track(s) at grade, and hardly more likely that it
would agree to leave a (restored) diamond crossing of CSTX by the "O" Line
clear of trains at all times to protect North Corridor train schedules. It has
therefore been assumed that North Corridor trains will be grade-separated
from CSX at the crossing. Consideration is being given to grade separation
of the CSX / NS crossing at Graham, in conjunction with the Multi-Modal
center project.

Preliminary concept plans show the CSX line depressed and the NS main line
elevated above present grade. Southern Street is also relocated close to, if not
on, the alignment of the present on-ramp to I-277 from North Graham Street,
this would be closed. It is thus relatively simple to elevate the North
Corridor rail alignment over the CSX (lowered) profile to enable a grade-
separated crossing.

Norfolk Southern Main Line:

The NS main line from Atlanta to Washington passes through a portion of
the North Corridor between North Davidson and Uptown Charlotte. The
line carries heavy freight traffic, with an average of 30-35 train movements
per day. In addition, Amtrak operates the Crescent between New York and
New Orleans via Charlotte and Atlanta, the Carolinian between New York
and Charlotte, and the Piedmont between Raleigh and Charlotte, all on
daily schedules. At present the Amtrak passenger station is located on
the west side of the Charlotte Yard, with street access from North Tryon
Street.

As noted above, plans are being developed to relocate the passenger
station to the Multi-Modal center, along the NS main line in the vicinity
of Trade Street. All North Corridor rail alternatives potentially impact
operations on the NS main line, at least during the construction period.

The proposed access to the Multi-Modal Center requires construction of
an additional track, just to the west of the NS main line tracks, to carry the
commuter trains to and from the Center City terminal. A retaining wall and
several structures for crossing over streets would have to be constructed in
very close quarters to the NS main line. Once in operation, however, there
would be no impact on NS operations, except possibly in setting off/picking
up cars at the ADM plant. This would depend on how the ADM track age is
ultimately reconfigured.

Construction of the ‘O’ Line within Area 2 will require widening the west
side of the NS track bed between West 9th Street and West Trade Street.
New retaining walls would be constructed. The widened track bed and
new retaining walls would encroach upon a narrow strip of the Elmwood
Cemetery requiring the relocation of some existing grave sites. (Refer to
Section 3.2.7 below for additional discussion regarding Elmwood Cemetery.)

Three new bridges would be constructed in Area 2 for the ‘O’ Line. A bridge
would carry the ‘O’ Line over the proposed CSXT trench. The second bridge
would carry the ‘O’ Line over West 6th Street; a third bridge would carry the
‘O’ Line over West 5th Street. It appears that both streets would have adequate
vertical clearances under the new bridges; however, this would need to be
confirmed during Preliminary Engineering.

Cemetery Impacts:

Because the Station project is located adjacent to the city’s Elmwood and
Pinewood cemeteries, construction of some proposed track improvements
would impact these burial grounds. In meetings with the City’s Cemetery
Division and Engineering Department, the project team verified a series of
security enhancements have been proposed for the Pinewood/trench area.
All reasonable options were considered to find ways to avoid disturbing the
cemeteries, and extreme care has been taken to minimize proposed impacts
on the graves in these cemeteries.

For the CSXT grade separation as described in Section 6.2.1, the Preferred
Alternative calls for the track to be temporarily shifted north onto Seaboard
Street away from Pinewood Cemetery.

The trench would then be cut between the temporary track and Pinewood
Cemetery. The Preferred Alternative calls for a new architectural fence or
brick wall running the length of the trench at the cemetery property line
that would greatly improve cemetery security and dramatically reduce the
possibility of vandals accessing the cemetery via the railroad row. These
enhancements would also correct several long standing erosion problems
connected with run-off from the existing railroad row.

Elmwood Cemetery:

Impacting the eastern edge of Elmwood Cemetery. Federal railroad
administration regulations require a 26-foot minimum separation
between the centerline of a commuter track (“O” Line) and the
center line of an adjacent freight track. This 26-foot separation
gives the transit operator the ability to work on its track and operate
commuter trains without restrictions such as slow orders and flag
protection due to nearby freight rail tracks, and vice versa. With these
spacing requirements, the commuter rail line will be near the western
edge of the existing NS right-of-way, bordering Elmwood Cemetery.
Although the new track will be within the existing NS right-of-way,
the railroad bed would have to be widened.

Note: The plans are still developing right now for the North Corridor.
Presently, Elmwood and Pinewood Cemetery could be affected.
Still this could change like our vote of not building the arena.

This could be accomplished by widening the existing railroad embankment,
or building a new retaining wall. A retaining wall was selected because if
would minimize the impact on the Elmwood Cemetery, versus a widening
of the embankment which would put the slope well into the cemetery. By
using a retaining wall engineering surveys and cemetery records research
indicates that only 40,254 square feet of cemetery property would be needed
and 137 graves relocated. The retain wall would be built using the same
historic architectural details as the 6th Street Bridge.

The retaining wall would clean up an area of the railroad row along the
Elmwood Cemetery that is currently overgrown with weeks, used as a
dumping ground and providing a haven for vagrants. The proposed
retaining wall would be the first time in the Cemetery’s history that it
would secure its eastern border with the railroad. Renderings of existing
conditions along Elmwood Cemetery and the possible design of the new
retaining wall. Community Park for the neighborhood of Fourth Ward.
NCDOT has already acquired some of these properties

Alternatives N-3 and N-4 have similar impacts regarding property
acquisitions because they use the existing NSRR corridor for the
majority of the alignment. An additional rail track and supporting
structures would be required in the Center City portion of Charlotte,
and would require acquisition of property in this area to accommodate
the additional track. The property acquisition in this area would be
approximately one to two acres and impact the Elmwood and Pinewood
Cemeteries that are located adjacent to the existing rail corridor.

Approximately 35 known grave sites in these cemeteries could potentially
require relocation as a result of the construction impacts in this area.
(Note: The Feasibility Study claimed it is 137 grave sites. The Planners
only counted plots, from an aerial map. They have not counted the
individual graves that would be exhumed, if they go forward with this.

To know the names of the individuals that would be affected by this,
if they go back to this plan go to the list.

*** See Link >>>>

Property acquisitions for a rail maintenance yard and shop for Alternatives
N-3 and N-4 would occur in the vicinity of Timber Road in Iredell County
south of Mooresville. Approximately two acres of property would be acquired
for the proposed maintenance yard and shop for the commuter rail vehicles.
The majority of the properties to be acquired are vacant or undeveloped
parcels.

In addition to the property acquisitions for the rail alignments, property
would be required for parking and bus terminal drop-off areas at several
of the proposed commuter rail stations. Alternative N-3 could require an
estimated 15 to 20 acres to accommodate the 11 stations proposed for this
type of rail service. Alternative N-4 could require an estimated 27 to 30
acres for the 17-station rail service option.

***SEE Link: White House Response / FTA. Letter >>>