CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Community feedback has helped the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) reshape a planned railroad maintenance facility in Charlotte's South End neighborhood.
The Charlotte Passenger Rail Facility along Summit Avenue is meant to provide facilities to repair, clean and maintain the city's expanding Amtrak service. In the years ahead, Charlotte's Amtrak station will relocate to Gateway Station, a new facility being built within Uptown Charlotte near Bank of American stadium and Truist Field. Transportation officials also hope to launch new and expanded passenger rail service from Charlotte.
To accommodate service expansion, NCDOT has been planning for more than a decade to build this facility. Renderings dating back to at least May 2012 show the complex, which was intended to stretch both sides of West Summit Avenue and include a maintenance garage along with a train wash.
NCDOT confirmed to WCNC Charlotte Thursday that plans to expand the complex to the west side of Summit Avenue will not happen.
"We were pleased to have the opportunity to meet with community members, business owners, and other interested parties to listen to their concerns and incorporate that important feedback into the proposed plans," an NCDOT spokesperson told WCNC Charlotte.
In original renderings, the west side of the complex was intended for the train wash and an additional connection to the existing Norfolk Southern mainline, which already crosses Summit Avenue as it heads south from Charlotte toward Atlanta.
Now NCDOT is committed to keeping the main facility on the east side of the road with only minor or limited items, such as utility or drainage connections, happening on the west side of the road. State officials have also said they do not anticipate making any additional "significant property acquisition" for the project. Land on the east side of the track, where some railroad infrastructure has already been installed, was previously purchased by the NCDOT from previous property owners that include the Charlotte Pipe and Foundry.
The Charlotte Pipe and Foundry company announced in 2020 that they would be relocating to Stanly County. The remaining 55-acre industrial site, which the company still owns on the north side of the railroad tracks along South Clarkson Street, has long been speculated as a potential future home for the Carolina Panthers, whose owner David Tapper has openly said desires a new stadium and facility.
Updated renderings and information for the Charlotte Passenger Rail Facility are expected to be released by the NCDOT at a public meeting on Monday, March 25. The meeting will be held from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Pritchard at South End Church, which is located at 1117 South Boulevard.
The project's current website, which still needs to be updated to reflect the new plans, shows the project's estimated costs at $342.9 million. Current information shows construction could begin in 2026 and be completed by 2028.