CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The wait to get on a LYNX blue line train is about to get a little longer.
- CATS will increase wait times by 90 seconds for the LYNX blue line
- CATS says original wait times were too short and they've been having to play catch up by adding spare trains
- Increased times will go into effect in April
CATS says the wait for a train is currently around 7.5 minutes during rush hour, but soon, that will increase by 90 seconds. The new wait time will be closer to nine minutes.
The original projection for how long a train could get from one end to the other on the blue line was too short, according to CATS. To play catch up, it's been adding spare trains.
CATS says it needs those spare trains to fill in for other trains that are getting old and will need to be sent in for maintenance.
The solution it says is to extend wait times.
“Now that we're changing the schedule you'll be able to once again rely on the train service meeting the schedule and you can work your trips around that,” says CATS CEO John Lewis.
CATS says the extra wait is temporary and should be fixed when the maintenance projects are done in around four years.
“This is about CATS being transparent," Lewis says. "When our service is behind we are going to tell our customers so that they can make informed decisions. Maybe stay five minute longer at the office or home rather than sitting outside waiting at the station.”
CATS says those longer waits will take effect in April.
The trains operate 98 percent on-time, CATS says, which is above the industry average of 88 percent.