Charlotte vs. Norfolk: Light-rail lines on same track?

It's standing room only during morning and evening rush hours, and often at lunchtime, on Charlotte's 9-1/2-mile light-rail line that runs between the city center and the suburbs.

The train takes passengers, for a fare of $1.75, past the business district, convention center, sports arena and new apartments and condos that flank the tracks. It stops at park-and-ride lots that sometimes fill to capacity.

For many of the 15,000 people who ride it daily, LYNX light rail has saved time, money and commuting headaches getting around a city that's home to the nation's second-largest financial center.

"It gives me 30 minutes of peace," said Bridget McCall, who rides daily to her accounting job. "It beats sitting in traffic, I save gas and I don't have to pay for parking. I love it."

Banker Mike Gathman drives 10 miles from his South Carolina home to the end of the line to hop the train to work. He's tried driving, carpooling and riding the bus, but he far prefers light rail.

"Disadvantages? There really are none," he said. "Except it gets crowded."

Charlotte wasn't always enamored with light rail. Before it opened in 2007, there were cost overruns, construction delays and ultimately an effort to try to repeal the regional sales tax that pays for it.

Sound familiar?

"We went through eight years of hell during the construction and planning phases," said Pat McCrory, former mayor of Charlotte. "You always get curve balls thrown at you. During construction, it was called 'the McCrory line,' and it was not meant as a compliment.

"I thought I'd be run out of office."

In many ways, Charlotte's early challenges with light rail are similar to Norfolk's.

The Tide in Norfolk is nearly 50 percent, or $106 million, over budget. It will open Aug. 19, more than a year and a half after it was originally scheduled to launch.

Whether Norfolk can shrug off its rocky start and embrace the 7.4-mile starter line the way much of Charlotte has remains to be seen. Charlotte voters rejected the tax repeal by a margin of 7 to 3.

"Twenty years from now, who's going to care about overruns?" Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, said. "In the long term, it's going to be a footnote because light rail is going to shape the development of your region."

"How much did the New York City subway cost? Was it over budget or under budget? Does it matter now?"

Norfolk is no New York City, or even Charlotte.

Yet, Norfolk's light rail is often compared to Charlotte's because of its proximity (about 350 miles away), the length of the route and its similar costs. Norfolk's per-mile construction cost is $45.7 million; Charlotte's was $48.2 million.

There are some negative comparisons as well.

"Light rail is a huge burden to any city that has one," said Don Reid, a former Charlotte city councilman who headed the failed drive to repeal the sales tax for transit. "From a practical standpoint, it's a loser, a real loser. There's no way Norfolk can afford it."