NC: Federal transit leader coming to Charlotte after light rail stabbings, city reveals

The head of the Federal Transit Administration is coming to Charlotte after the city’s transit system spent much of 2025 in the spotlight for a pair of violent incidents.

FTA Administrator Marcus Molinaro will be in Charlotte on Jan. 16, interim Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Brent Cagle announced at a Wednesday meeting of the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority.

The visit comes months after the fatal August stabbing of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska on the city’s LYNX Blue Line light rail. Zarutska’s killing brought a wave of scrutiny to Charlotte’s transit system, and the attention was renewed after another stabbing on the light rail in December.

The FTA previously announced an investigation into CATS following Zarutska’s killing. It’s just one of multiple state and federal investigations launched after the stabbing.

Asked if Molinaro’s January trip is related to the FTA’s investigation, Cagle told media after the MPTA meeting that while it’s “routine for the FDA administrator to show interest in transit systems … clearly, I think there is a focus on security, which is a direct result of the incidents that we have had.”

“The FTA administrator has stated publicly that security of passengers in all transit systems is a priority for him,” Cagle said.

Molinaro’s visit will include a ride on the Blue Line and a roundtable with local officials and business leaders, according to Cagle.

“The intent of that roundtable is to bring the FTA administrator together with CATS and other city staff … as well as local business people so that the FTA administrator can understand our priorities around security (and) safety,” Cagle said.

The FTA will determine what portions of the visit, if any, are open to the public, Cagle said.

Molinaro’s visit isn’t the first time federal and state officials have looked into safety in Charlotte since the first light rail stabbing.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee and others from the Carolinas congressional delegation held a field hearing in Charlotte on public safety in September.

The state House Oversight Committee announced this week it would hold a hearing Jan. 29 on safety in Charlotte, the city’s public transit system and DEI initiatives. Cagle is among those asked to testify, alongside Mayor Vi Lyles, County Manager Mike Bryant, City Manager Marcus Jones, Sheriff Garry McFadden, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather and Police Chief Estella Patterson.

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