Charlotte Area Transit System - Riding LYNX

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Charlotte Area Transit System - Riding LYNX
City of Charlotte
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center
600 East Fourth Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202

704-336-2241 (Phone)
704-336-6644 (Fax)

The LYNX Blue Line offers fast, quiet, convenient light-rail service to 15 stations between uptown Charlotte and I-485 at South Blvd. Dozens of bus routes are timed to connect with trains at the Blue Line stations, making it easy to get to work, to shopping or wherever you need to be. Enjoy the ride!

What you may not know about the LYNX Blue Line:

Before construction could begin, CATS had to remove over 500 Schweinitz's sunflowers from the railroad right-of-way. The Schweinitz's sunflower is known to grow only in the Piedmont areas of North Carolina and South Carolina and was listed as endangered on May 7, 1991 under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. The sunflowers were moved to a preserved area of Mecklenburg County.

The steel girders used to construct the light rail bridge at Tyvola Road each weigh 110,000 pounds. They were lifted into place by two cranes, a 350-ton crane and a 450-ton crane. The 450-ton crane was so large it had its own weather center at the top and five flat-panel televisions inside the cab so the operator could see all around the outside of the crane.
Schweinitz's sunflowers
Photo Credit: Mike Bush

lynx convention center
The LYNX Blue Line is the only light rail system in the United States that runs through a Convention Center.

The I-485/South Boulevard Station is an example of public partnerships working together. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools donated the land for this parking deck to CATS. In return, CATS built a three-story parking structure and created a playfield on top of the parking deck for the students of Sterling Elementary.

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More than 800 workers helped build the 9.6 mile LYNX Blue Line.







materials

Materials Used:

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60,000 feet of steel "H" shaped columns
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50,000 cubic yards of concrete
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450,000 tons of stone -- not including stones in the railroad bed
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8 million pounds of rebar
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18 million pounds of structural steel
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300,000 sq ft of MSE (mechanically stabilized earth) retaining walls
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40,000 concrete railroad ties
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600,000 feet of electrical wiring
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Approximately 210,000 linear feet of rail (almost 40 miles)