CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte City Council reviewed Monday evening whether to buy the Charlotte Area Transit System equipment needed to expedite safety repairs.
Following the recent disclosure of a previously unknown train derailment, city officials have charged the interim head of CATS to be more proactive and transparent with the safety of the transit system's light rail, the LYNX Blue Line.
In May 2022, a wheel axle seized and the train's wheel stopped spinning, according to Brent Cagle, the transit agency's interim head. The wheel then jumped the track. Cagle said it was a relatively minor incident but repairs need to be made to all 42 light rail cars to prevent it from happening again.
"As the water gets into that [wheel] bearing, the grease that is normally in that bearing starts to seep," Cagle explained. "The bearing corrodes and it doesn't run smoothly and so over time that friction creates heat and ultimately the axle stops turning"
In order to make that repair, the wheel sets need to be shipped to Siemens, the manufacturer located in California.
"We had one dolly set," Cagle said. "So that means we could send one set of the wheels... to California to be repaired at any given time."
Siemens shared the following statement with WCNC Charlotte: “The wellbeing of passengers is the top priority for Siemens Mobility as well as CATS. We have been proactively working with the customer on a maintenance plan that will prevent any future issues with bearings.”
Ahead of Monday's meeting, Cagle said he hopes the city approves the purchase of additional dollies. Without the additional dollies, Cagle estimates it would take until 2025 to fix half of the light rail fleet.
"Right now the schedule they have given us is really determined by our inability to send them the equipment," Cagle said. "That's why we have to buy the dollies."
The cost of additional dollies is estimated at $900,000.
"We are working to aggressively mediate or fix this problem as quickly as possible."
Until the issue is resolved, CATS is running its light rail service at a reduced speed.
Instead of the normal 45 mph maximum, the trains are operating at a reduced maximum of 35 mph.
“We are certain that we have mitigating measures in place, we can catch the bearing issue before it becomes catastrophic failures,” Cagle said.
Also on the agenda of the city council Monday, is additional funding for transit security and cleaning.
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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