CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Area Transit System and city officials broke ground Thursday on the Silver Line, a 26-mile light rail corridor that will run from Matthews in the east through Uptown and on to Belmont in the west — and will deliver, for the first time, a direct rail connection between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the rest of the city’s transit network.
The groundbreaking ceremony, held at the future Uptown transfer station site near the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets, drew several hundred attendees including Mecklenburg County commissioners, CATS leadership, and representatives from the Federal Transit Administration, which is providing approximately $1.4 billion of the project’s $4.2 billion total cost through the Capital Investment Grant program.
“This is the project that finishes the map,” said Charlotte Mayor [Name]. “The Blue Line changed South End. The Silver Line is going to change everything east of Uptown and give the airport the connection it should have had 20 years ago.”
The Silver Line’s airport connector will branch from the main alignment near the existing LYNX Blue Line interchange at East/West station, with a dedicated spur running directly to a new intermodal facility inside the Charlotte Douglas terminal complex. CATS estimates the airport connection will reduce ground transportation demand during peak travel periods and provide an alternative for the more than 50 million annual passengers who currently rely exclusively on taxis, rideshares, and rental cars to reach the airport from the city center.
On the eastern end, the line will serve the Matthews and Mint Hill corridors, areas that have seen substantial residential growth with almost no transit infrastructure. CATS projections estimate 28,000 daily boardings systemwide by 2035.
In NoDa, the Silver Line’s planned North Davidson Street station will create a second rail stop for the arts district, supplementing the existing Blue Line station at 36th Street and potentially accelerating the next phase of mixed-use development along the corridor.
Full revenue service on the Silver Line is targeted for 2031. Construction will be phased, with utility relocation and underground work in Uptown beginning this summer.