Futuristic Rail Set for Bid
16 views · Published 7 April 2015 · 2:34 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: WLOS News 13 · 2015 · News & Politics
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. -- Getting around in Greenville County may get a lot faster and easier. Greenville County council members are looking at a multi-million dollar elevated rail system. Four firms are already competing to build the system, which is being hailed as the future of transportation in the region. "They're personal. They are owned and manned. They take you from where you are to where you want to go," said Greenville County council member Fred Payne. This new monorail system would allow about four miles of travel along Laurens Road into downtown Greenville. Payne said the $50 million monorail system would be state of the art. "Imagine it's a horizontal elevator, instead of a vertical elevator. When you go to the elevator on your floor, you push the button, you open it up. If there's nobody there you still get on it and ride it. If there's seven people there you may say 'hey, I'll catch the next one,'" Payne said. Sharing a bus seat may become a hassle of the past. Payne said four to six passengers would fit into a rail car"and the best part"they would come about every 30 seconds. "You can do it on your phone. You can call up. You can call ahead and say 'I want a vehicle to meet me at Station Two and I want to go to Station Ten.' So, it comes knowing it's going to pick you up at Station Two and bring you to Station Ten." Payne said one of the best features"it would include no upfront costs to taxpayers. The four companies vying to develop the monorail system can only factor in private dollars. "There will be no federal, state or local money involved in building this system. We expect farebox, and advertising and sponsorships to cover the cost of that," Payne said. But, Payne said, taxpayers would certainly reap financially benefits from advertising, fare dollars and sponsorships. "We get economic development. We build housing and retail and office space," Payne said. The Greenville County Economic Development Corporation set the bid deadline for May 1. _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/News13/ WLOS ABC 13 News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WLOS_13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wlos_13 Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Channel/?sub_confirmation=1 Listen to AnchorMOMS, the Podcast: https://wlos.com/news/anchormoms/anchormoms-the-podcast Watch more top local news stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk8Ge6UXHJs&list=PLkVbaoT-aYbIvnEpR0Ct5QQQqYaORUSUH For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.wlos.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
