Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains

CAPT Board Meeting September 18, 2021 Charlotte, NC

CAPT Officers, Directors, Members and Interested Guests:

You are invited to a scheduled in-person meeting Saturday, September 18, 2021.

It will be held at Big Ben Pub, 1535 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte, NC, 28204.

We will have a private room for lunch, followed by the meeting. Lunch will be 11:00 a.m. to noon, and the board meeting noon to 3:00 p.m. The meeting will also be virtual for those not attending in person. Please note Zoom information to link to the meeting via the internet at the bottom of the page. For those arriving by auto, please use free parking across the street behind the Elizabeth Avenue City Lynx Gold Line streetcar station. For those arriving on the Piedmont, you will be met at the Amtrak station for the 9:40 a.m. morning arrival from Raleigh. Depending on time, you will be transported to the Parkwood Lynx Blue station to catch the light rail train to uptown, or if the Piedmont is late, you will be transported directly to Big Ben by auto. Big Ben fronts the streetcar line and offers a wonderful selection of British fare, and you will be able to order individually off their menu. After the meeting there will be time to ride the streetcar for a round trip, which should take around an hour and a half. Later, those who came by train will transported back to the Amtrak station in time for the 7:00 p.m. northbound departure for Raleigh. Depending on time, the transport will be by auto or light rail to Parkwood and then by auto from there to the Amtrak station.  

The City Lynx Gold line began service on Monday, August 30th after several years of construction extending the center city service on each end. The line runs between French Street near Johnson C. Smith University on the west side, to Sunnyside Avenue near Central Avenue on the east side. The service is funded by the City of Charlotte, with Charlotte Area Transit System providing operational support. Local transit tax dollars used for light rail operations are not used for this service. Modern Siemens S70S streetcars are used on the service.

Streetcar service is free until the end of 2021. Lynx light rail fare is $2.20 one way, and half fare for Seniors 62 and up, Medicaid eligible, ADA-Disabled, and students K-12.

• Welcome
• Secretary's report
• Treasurer's report
• Consideration of open Board member positions
• Economic Feasibility Study for Charlotte-Columbia-Charleston rail route
• Update on the resolution drive in South Carolina in support of expanded rail passenger service
• Western NC Rail Alliance update
• Update on NC On Track (NCOT)
• Update on news in North Carolina and South Carolina affecting transit and rail passenger service
• Update on CAPT newsletter and website issues
• RPA Rail Nation DC Fall Advocacy Event in September
• Amtrak update
• Reports by Officers and Directors
• Planning for future meetings
• Adjournment