CATS must repair its entire Blue Line fleet after a 2022 derailment
Trains on the CATS Blue Line are now limited to a top speed of 35 mph after city officials learned two weeks ago that one of the trains derailed last year because of a mechanical defect.
A Charlotte Area Transit Official released little information about the incident, which happened in May 2022.
The defect, which involved a faulty bearing in a wheel assembly, could impact all 42 cars in the Blue Line fleet, Brent Cagle, the transit system’s interim CEO, told City Council members on Monday.
Prior to the meeting, the defect and derailment had not been publicly disclosed.
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Cagle said CATS is monitoring the bearings on all CATS trains to mitigate potential problems.
When a Council member asked whether the trains are safe, even at a slower speed, Cagle said: “We are certain that we have mitigating measures in place, and we feel that in the vehicles that are running, we can catch the bearing issue before it becomes a catastrophic failure.”
The previous top speed for Blue Line trains was 55 mph.
The derailment, which happened under Cagle’s predecessor, John Lewis, was reported to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Cagle replaced Lewis on Dec. 1, 2022, after Lewis resigned.
Cagle said he first learned of the derailment two weeks ago, when the state transportation department asked CATS for a “corrective action plan” to prevent future problems relating to the faulty bearings.
Council member Renee Johnson, representing District 4, called it “concerning” that City Council had not been told of the derailment.
“I would think that’s something that Council would have, or should have, known,” she said.
Cagle said CATS is working with Siemens Mobility to replace the axel bearings in all Blue Line cars, a process that could take years, he said.
Cagle said he would return to City Council on April 10 to request a contract modification allowing Siemens to do the work. Cagle did not say how much the repairs would cost taxpayers.
The bearings that need replacing are no longer under warranty.
Blue Line trains have been running at a reduced speed for about a week and a half, he said, without impacting the Blue Line’s schedule.
Thomas Polk Park
In a 9-1 vote, Council approved a plan allowing a group of private residents to renovate and rename Thomas Polk Park in uptown Charlotte.
The 1/3-acre park is at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets in uptown Charlotte. It was built in 1991
Under the plan approved by Council, the park will be renamed in honor of Hugh McColl Jr., a former chairman and CEO of Bank of America. The bank’s headquarters is across the street from the park.
A group calling itself the Hugh McColl Park Coalition “is well on its way to a $10 million fundraising goal to pay for the rehabilitation,” according to a statement released Monday by Charlotte Center City Partners.
The coalition includes Cyndee Patterson, former city councilwoman and co-chair of the park effort; Kieth Cockrell, president of Bank of America Charlotte; Harvey Gantt, former Charlotte mayor; Michael Marsicano, former president and CEO of Foundation For The Carolinas; Loy McKeithen, a former partner at McGuireWoods; Rolfe Neill, former publisher of The Charlotte Observer; and Michael Smith, president and CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners.
“It’s hard to think of anyone who has done more for this city than Hugh McColl,” said Malcomb Coley, Charlotte managing partner for EY, who co-chairs the Hugh McColl Park Coalition. “It is particularly appropriate that the park is across the street from the Bank of America Corporate Center where Mr. McColl not only transformed the banking industry but also jumpstarted the revitalization of Uptown that continues today.”
Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston said he was eager to move forward with the redesign, which he said currently fits the definition of an underutilized parcel. Winston said public engagement would be “integral to the redesign process.”
District 3 Representative LaWana Mayfield voted against the plan. She said she opposed using public property to honor living people. She also questioned a plan to use $350,000 in taxpayer money to demolish the park.
“I really feel that there are other capital needs that we have right now that that $350,000 could address,” she said.
District 7 Council member Ed Driggs said he supported the park being renamed in honor of McColl, noting that the retired banker was a “driving force” behind the growth of Bank of America and Charlotte.
Driggs said the tax dollars spent would be an “excellent value for the revitalization that would take place at this location.”
“This has been a neglected little corner for a long time,” he said, “and it’s really about time we did something about it.”
District 2 Council member Malcolm Graham also supported the renaming. “Uptown is uptown because of Mr. McColl,” Graham said.
Social District
Council got an update on the city’s plan to create “social districts” where adults can carry open containers of alcohol.
So far, two areas have applied to become social districts, according to a presentation by Debbie Smith, the director of the city’s Department of Transportation.
Plaza Midwood and Glide Brewery were “the first out the gate,” Smith said.
Council could host public comments in April if final applications are submitted and vetted by city staff. A vote to approve social districts could come in May.