CHARLOTTE AREA LIGHT RAIL
LYNX Blue Line and Charlotte Trolley

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) operates both a modern light rail route and a heritage trolley line.  This photo shows 7th St. in Uptown Charlotte.  Both lines run here, but at this station only, each has its own track.  This is the terminal of the LYNX Blue Line, a 9.6 mile route that goes generally southwest from here to I-485/South Blvd.  In this view, car number 110 will become the trailing unit on the two-car train soon to proceed outbound.

The other rails are utilized by the Charlotte Trolley, a two-mile line that goes from 9th St. (two blocks behind the camera) to Atherton Mill.  The crossover switches are visible just beyond the station that allow the necessary movements for each service.

There are at least two distinctions that Charlotte has when compared with the other cities -- San Francisco, New Orleans and Philadelphia -- that also operate both kinds of electric transit.  The vintage trolley came before light rail in Charlotte, and both share the same right of way for almost two miles, with six stations south of 7th that share common platforms.