Towns fight for a train of their own

[ccharles000]

As the Charlotte Area Transit System focused this summer on designing its light-rail extension, the mayors of three north Mecklenburg towns asked: What about us?

Worried that a planned commuter train to Lake Norman was being ignored, the towns of Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson began their own lobbying effort, sending representatives to Washington, D.C., to push their case.

"No one was lobbying for us," said Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte.

The decision of the towns to strike out on their own has rankled some on the Metropolitan Transit Commission, which plans where and when transit will be built, and which seeks a unified voice.

It also highlights what could be a bruising fight in the next two years: How CATS spends what little money it has left.

Three years ago, CATS promised it would build the Lynx Blue Line and four other transit lines. But the recession and rising construction costs have wrecked those plans.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/967763.html

[Historic NY]

1. Where's my train? I have to travel across a mighty river to get one..

to go to one part of NY and then 6 miles west to catch one via NJ to go to another part of NY. The local track here only handles 50-65 freight trains.

Anything in the stimulus bill that works to promote train travel is a win win solution to our energy problems.