UNC Charlotte–Main is a light rail station on the

LYNX Blue Line The Lynx Blue Line is a light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina. Opened in 2007, it was the first rail line of the Charlotte Area Transit System, and the first major rapid rail service of any kind in the state. The 26-station, line extends ...

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 ...

, United States. It opened on March 16, 2018, as part of the Blue Line extension to the

UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

campus, and serves as the line's northern terminus. The station features a single

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

and is located on the north side of Cameron Boulevard, adjacent to the university's main campus in University City.

History

The university entered into a partnership with the city government in 2005 to bring light rail to the campus. Construction on the station began in late 2014, and the foundation was completed by the end of 2015. The first test trains arrived at the station in June 2017. The Blue Line extension opened on March 16, 2018, and the inaugural train departed from UNC Charlotte–Main station at 10 a.m. A

ribbon cutting An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

ceremony was conducted at the station a month earlier to celebrate the university's involvement in the light rail project.

Public art

UNC Charlotte–Main station features public art from

Mikyoung Kim Mikyoung Kim, FASLA is an American landscape architect, urban designer, and founding principal of Mikyoung Kim Design. Kim has received the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Award and the American Society of Landscape Architects National Design Medal. He ...

, a Boston-based urban designer commissioned by CATS. Her firm designed a "dynamic" sculpture placed in the station's main plaza, consisting of two long, deformed benches that provide seating. The plaza faces the UNC Charlotte Student Union building and includes a crosswalk on Cameron Boulevard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:UNC Charlotte-Main station Lynx Blue Line stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 2018 2018 establishments in North Carolina University of North Carolina at Charlotte Railway stations in North Carolina at university and college campuses