USA: Charlotte’s CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar reopened on August 30, following a project to modernise the line and extend it at each end to connect the historic West End to the Elizabeth neighbourhood via Uptown.
Trams run every every 20 min from 05.00 to 02.00 seven days a week. Travel is free until the end of the year, when a single fare of $2·20 paid via the farebox or CATS-Pass Mobile Ticketing app is to be introduced.
The first phase of the Gold Line originally opened in July 2015, running 2·4 km from CTC Arena to Hawthorne/5th with six stops and operated using heritage-style trams supplied by Gomaco Trolley Co.
Services were suspended in June 2019 to facilitate upgrading and the construction of extensions at each end of the route by contractor Johnson Bros Corp.
The western extension runs 3·3 km from CTC Area to French Street with nine stops, while the two-stop eastern extension runs 0·9 km to Hawthorne/8th and Sunnyside Avenue.
The heritage-style trams have been replaced with six modern Siemens Mobility S700 low-floor cars, which are equipped with batteries for catenary-free operation in the Uptown area.
Future extensions are envisaged which would expand the line westwards to Rosa Parks and east to Eastland, subject to funding being secured.
