The transportation needs for the city of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

are served by an expanding mass transit system, major airport, and several highways.

Mass transit

The

Charlotte Area Transit System The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Charlotte metropolitan area. CATS operates bus and rail transit services in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas. Established in 1999, CATS' b ...

(CATS) is the agency responsible for operating mass transit in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. CATS operates light rail transit, streetcar service, express shuttles, and bus service serving Charlotte and its immediate suburbs. The LYNX system comprises a 19.3-mile long north-south light rail line known as the Blue Line and a 1.5-mile streetcar line, known as the CityLYNX Gold Line. The Blue Line was extended from the original section, I-485 to Uptown, to the UNC Charlotte campus in 2018. Bus ridership has declined in the system along with a nationwide trend in ridership The 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan looks to add more light rail and

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

lines in Charlotte as well as add a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

line.

Air

Charlotte/Douglas International Airport Charlotte Douglas International Airport ( IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles we ...

is the 11th busiest airport in the world, as measured by traffic It is served by many domestic airlines, as well as international airlines

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

and

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

, and is the second largest hub for

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

. Nonstop flights are available to many destinations across the United States, as well as flights to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Roads and highways

Charlotte's central location between the population centers of the northeast and southeast has made it a transportation focal point and primary distribution center, with two major interstate highways, Interstate 85 (I-85) and

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

, intersecting near the city's center. Charlotte's

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

, designated I-485, has a total circumference of approximately . Within the city, the I-277 loop freeway encircles Charlotte's uptown (usually referred to by its two separate sections, the John Belk Freeway and the Brookshire Freeway) while

Charlotte Route 4 Route 4 is an partial ring road located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Beginning and ending at Interstate 85 (I-85), it loops south around Uptown Charlotte along state-maintained secondary roads, connecting the Charlotte Douglas International A ...

links major roads in a loop between I-277 and I-485.

Trade Street Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The ...

and

Tryon Street Tryon may refer to: * Tryon (surname) Places * Tryon Creek, tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon * Tryon Street, major north-south street of Charlotte, North Carolina * Tryon, Prince Edward Island, Canada, unincorporated area * Settled ...

are the central thoroughfares though

Uptown Charlotte Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The a ...

. The intersection of

Trade and Tryon Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The ...

marks the center point of the city, dividing the city's first four wards.

is a partial

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

utilizing many existing two-lane roads around the south and east sides of the city. It is denoted by a pentagonal county road shield, with a green background and the city's crown logo above the number. Other major thoroughfares include: Albemarle Road (part of NC 24 and NC 27), Arrowood Road, Atando Avenue, Beatties Ford Road, Billy Graham Parkway, Brookshire Boulevard (part of NC 16), Carson Boulevard, Central Avenue, Charlottetowne Avenue, Clanton Road, Davidson Street, East Boulevard, Eastway Drive, Elizabeth Avenue, Fairview Road, Freedom Drive (part of NC 27), Graham Street (part of U.S. Route 29 (US 29) and NC 49), Hawthorne Lane, Idlewild Road,

Independence Boulevard U.S. Route 74 (US 74) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Primarily in North Carolina, it serves as an important highway from the mountains to the ...

(part of US 74 and NC 27), Johnston Road, Kenilworth Avenue, Kings Drive, LaSalle Street, Lawyers Road, Little Rock Road, Mallard Creek Road, McDowell Street (part of NC 27), Mint Street, Monroe Road, Morehead Street (part of US 29 and NC 27), Mt. Holly Road (part of NC 27), Nations Ford Road, Nevin Road, Oaklawn Avenue, Park Road, Pineville–Matthews Road (part of NC 51), The Plaza, Providence Road (part of NC 16), Queens Road, Randhiolph Road, Rea Road, Remount Road, Rozzelles Ferry Road, Runnymeade Lane, Sardis Road, Scaleybark Road, Selwyn Avenue, Sharon Road, Sharon-Amity Road, South Boulevard, Statesville Road (part of US 21), Steele Creek Road (part of NC 160), Stonewall Street, Sugar Creek Road, Sunset Road, Tremont Avenue, Tuckaseegee Road, Tyvola Road, University City Boulevard (part of NC 49), W.T. Harris Boulevard (part of NC 24), Wendover Road, West Boulevard (part of NC 160), Westinghouse Boulevard, Wilkinson Boulevard (part of US 74) and Woodlawn Road.

Intercity rail

Charlotte is served daily by three

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

routes. The

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

train connects Charlotte with

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

, and

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

to the north, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

to the south. It arrives overnight once in each direction. The Carolinian train connects Charlotte with

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

and

. Charlotte is the southern terminus, with the northbound train leaving just before the morning rush and the southbound train arriving in the evening. The

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

train, a regional companion of the ''Carolinian,'' connects Charlotte with

and

via three daily round trips. The Charlotte Amtrak station is located at 1914 North Tryon Street beside the Norfolk Southern railyard. The city is currently building a new centralized multimodal train station called Gateway Station. It is expected to house Amtrak, Greyhound, the future LYNX light rail lines, Red Line, and the CityLYNX Gold Line.

History

Charlotte station (Seaboard Air Line Railroad) Seaboard Air Line Railroad Passenger Station is a historic train station located at Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. History The station was designed by architect Charles Christian Hook and built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. ...

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Transport in Charlotte, North Carolina