Charlotte mayor addresses CATS issues; MTC to discuss derailment

A week after Channel 9 told you about delayed maintenance leading to derailment risks for CATS’ light rail system, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles says some of the challenges are a result of the original 20-year-old agreement for the transportation system.

Lyles issued a lengthy statement on Tuesday after the derailment issues were brought up to members of the Metropolitan Transit Commission and the Charlotte City Council. In the statement, she pointed to a number of changes that have taken place among city management regarding the problem.

The MTC is expected to meet on Wednesday over the derailment.

Channel 9′s Joe Bruno obtained letters from the North Carolina Department of Transportation that showed CATS was warned in 2022 to make safety changes to prevent derailments. The issue was raised after CATS Interim CEO Brent Cagle was recently informed of the risk of train derailments. Cagle had recently learned that a light rail train derailed between the Scaleybark and Woodlawn stations back in May of 2022, and the letters from NCDOT showed that the issue wasn’t contained to one single train.

>>NCDOT: Delayed maintenance directly contributed to CATS derailment risk

Cagle says the derailment was due to a faulty bearing -- the middle section of the light rail vehicles became detached from the track. Cagle says all 42 light rail vehicles suffer from the same issue that caused the May 2022 derailment, but he said a mitigation plan is in place and he is confident in the safety of the light rail. That plan includes speed restrictions of 35 miles per hour and temperature monitoring.

Lyles noted that CATS’ governing bodies, which are the city council and MTC, should have gotten more regular updates about the safety and security of the system.

The mayor also pointed out that the current interlocal agreement for CATS between the city, county, and six towns, was formed 20 years ago, adding that it may be time to expand the agreement.

SEE MORE: Interim CATS CEO says light rail is ‘safe’ after disclosing May 2022 derailment

“While this agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the MTC, the City of Charlotte and the Charlotte City Council, there is overlap and a lack of clarity,” the mayor said. “We’ve grown beyond our current county-wide effort, and perhaps it’s time to look at a regional authority with more direct responsibility.”

See the full statement from Mayor Lyles below:

“The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) plays an integral and critical role for the City of Charlotte and the region. As the chair of the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) and the Mayor of Charlotte, I know how valuable CATS is to our region. It is vital that the bus and rail systems are safe and reliable.

Recently, CATS disclosed shortcomings that were previously unknown to the members of the MTC and Charlotte City Council. Addressing these issues requires a thoughtful approach that seeks to identify and solve the root causes rather than just the symptoms of the problems. Over the last six months, we have made significant progress in improving CATS and ensuring that it operates at its best. However, there is still more work to be done, and we remain committed to continuing this important work in the coming weeks, months and years.

I have met with City Manager Marcus Jones, and he is working with the CATS leadership as they have begun to make improvements specific to the concerns of governance and culture highlighted by the Management Partners review. Since I took over as chair of the MTC, I have had regular discussions with the Interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle – just like previous MTC Chair Altman met with the previous CATS CEO on a routine basis while she was chair in 2022.

The City Manager and his team, along with Mr. Cagle, face a critical challenge: to elevate CATS to meet the community’s expectations for safety, reliability and service. While there will be difficult conversations and tough decisions, we are committed to moving forward. We have already taken steps in the right direction. Changes in CATS’ senior leadership, such as the turnover of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Operations Officer, have brought clarity to the need for change. We have also seen improvements in CATS’ culture, and Mr. Cagle is working to change the culture of the organization for the better.

We commit to openness and transparency as we hold conversations about what needs to happen to make CATS the organization that our community needs and deserves. With these efforts, we are confident that we can meet the challenge before us and build a CATS that is safe, reliable and responsive to the needs of our community.

I communicated my expectation to the City Manager and Mr. Cagle that CATS’ governing bodies receive regular updates on the safety and security of the system, as well and regular updates on the improvements being made to the efficiency and effectiveness of CATS.

Some challenges that CATS faces are a result of the original acquisition of the system as well as the over 20-year-old MTC Interlocal Agreement, which is outside the scope of the City of Charlotte. As the Management Partners review found, one of the most significant challenges facing CATS is the governance and reporting structure in which CATS is a city department but serves a regional role and has two major policy bodies which leads “to confusion about decision making authority” and “needs real change.”

The City of Charlotte, Charlotte City Council, and the MTC share oversight and accountability to the community for the performance of CATS. Both the MTC and the City of Charlotte have a part in the management of the CATS CEO and in budgeting and operational policy making.

When CATS was formed more than 20 years ago, Charlotte and our region were very different. It is time to examine our current interlocal agreement between the city, county and six towns, including Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill, which are all signatories to the agreement. While this agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the MTC, the City of Charlotte and the Charlotte City Council, there is overlap and a lack of clarity. We’ve grown beyond our current county-wide effort, and perhaps it’s time to look at a regional authority with more direct responsibility.

It takes commitment and focus to deliver a community-wide service and as both the Mayor of Charlotte and the Chair of the MTC, I am committed to ensuring the CATS delivers the services that our community expects and requires.”

(WATCH: Light rail cars could derail, CATS says)