CHARLOTTE — In the wake of Iryna Zarutska’s killing on a Charlotte light rail train, many in the community called on city leaders to make changes to improve security and safety on board. One of the challenges for the Charlotte Area Transit System is the Blue Line’s open platform system.
“I am only aware of one system in the U.S. that has actually tried to convert an open system to a closed system,” CATS leaders said in 2025. “It’s St. Louis.”
The MetroLink in St. Louis is the region’s light rail system, connecting 46 miles of rail across 38 stations in Missouri and Illinois. In the last few years, it has undergone massive security changes. And as CATS leadership mentioned last year, it’s the only system they know of to make a change like this.
“If your focus from a security standpoint is not building a buffer, a layered buffer, you’re going to fail,” said Kevin Scott, the executive vice president for public affairs and security with the Bi-State Development Agency.
Scott led the Secure Platform Total project and walked Channel 9’s Hannah Goetz through the concept.
“As much as we are working to impact true security, we are also working to impact perception,” Scott said.
One of the biggest differences in the two systems you can’t miss: Charlotte’s light rail is an open system with no gates, no fences, and no visible barriers. That’s much different from the MetroLink.
Scott says St. Louis uses turnstiles and fare validators to help guarantee that people getting on the light rail have a valid ticket to do so.
CATS told Channel 9 that DeCarlos Brown didn’t have a ticket on the night that he allegedly stabbed Iryna Zarutska to death on a Blue Line train.
The MetroLink went from 800 cameras to 2,000 system-wide. They’ve also built a real-time camera center to monitor activities. Clinicians are also riding trains, focusing on unhoused riders or those with mental health challenges.
“We can’t get to everybody, but we have built a program where we can we do as much intervention as we can, and we have built a network of support where we can do as much,” Scott said.
While Scott says he hasn’t consulted directly with anyone from Charlotte, he’s well aware of what happened to Zarutska. He says every city needs to find the right formula for safety.
“It is building a layered security approach to try to build as much of a buffer around your product as possible,” Scott said. “But at the end of the day, there are no guarantees.”