InfraStrategies supported CATS with the development of an updated grant application for the FTA’s Planning Grant application for the Red Line Commuter project. The Red Line (NCRL) Rail Project is an initiative to upgrade an existing section of the Norfolk Southern Railroad O-Line in the North Corridor of the Charlotte metropolitan area. The NCRL is a major regional economic development initiative that will significantly improve the movement of both goods and passengers along a 25-mile section of track running south from Mooresvillie to Charlotte with potential future extension north from Mooresville to Statesville.

The grant application focused on the economic development and investment potential benefits of the alignment to attract new residents, connect to employment centers, and strengthen the corridor for regional collaboration.

InfraStrategies updated the previously unsuccessful application to address the issues that FTA had highlighted in debriefing. The grant application spotlighted that leveraging transit service delivery would contribute to stimulating economic growth in the corridor and focusing new development potential that would achieve efficiencies that would allow local governments to provide high-quality transportation services.