Hydrail’s the answer: These are the questions!

1

Charlotte NCUrban Region

Fastest GrowingUrban Region

In the US2000 - 2010

2

Air Quality Sanctions Loom

The region faces the loss of up to US$9 Billion in Federal Highway Funds.

3

Need for Collaboration

4

5

Area Railroads

Regional Asset

• Nearly $5 billion in new development over 25 years

• $1.5 billion in four major developments

• 23,000 new jobs

• Employment centers at both ends of the line

Major driver for regional economic development, job creation and community investment for 30 years.

6

Why Mooresville, NC?

• Need to fund our portion of a commuter rail line.

• Air Quality issues that require regional collaboration.

• Bush era funding for hydrogen projects.

• Stan’s logic about hydrail being inevitable.

• Why not? No money and nothing to lose.

7

So what?• From a global perspective, hydrail is a major

contributing solution to several vexing problems.

– Highway Congestion

– Air Pollution

– Rail Electrification Costs

– CO2 Reduction

– Problems with Overhead Catenary• Growing concern with aerial plant

• Theft of railway copper

8

The Global Impact…• Just one US railroad, BNSF, accounts for 2.2%

of national oil use. The largest petroleum user in the world.

• Rail demand impacts both road and aviation petroleum cost.

• Transition off rail diesel will take 20+ years.

• Therefore, beginning ASAP is imperative.

• Beginning the transition just 1 year earlier saves 3,058,525,290 barrels of crude oil and 214,096,770 tons of CO2.

9

10

University of Birmingham UK's hydrail demonstration locomotive—Europe's first—with some of the designers and builders. Left-to-right: Peter Fisher, Jonathan Tutcher,

Hamed Rowshandle, Duncan Coombe, Mani Entezami, Rory Dickerson, Andreas Hoffrichter and (foreground) Stephen Kent.

11

Contact Information:

Bill Thunberg, Executive Director

Lake Norman Transportation Commission

P.O. Box 399

Cornelius, NC 28031

bthunberg@lakenormantrans.org

www.lakenormantrans.org

12