# Houston Metrorail



## Crossover (Feb 17, 2014)

Houston Metrorail is currently underway with construction on new extention lines . Recently , metrorail's north-south (Red Line - Reliant Park Stadium/ Northline Center ) northern flyover extention to Northline was completed and opened last year . The other lines are still under construction . The projects are broken down in phases which would probably take up to another 3 to 5 years for the rest of the lines to be complete . For more info , go to the Houston Metro Solutions website and it will explain the map and news updates on the construction of the system in the city .


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## beautifulplanet (Feb 17, 2014)

This may look like another example that might represent hope for many people, that METRORail was constructed in Houston, and that now all these expansions are being built. This might seem like a positive sign to many, that even in a classical example of a more conservative state, where public spending often appears to be unpopular, public spending like the investments in light rail are still possible.

Houston's light rail system might be regarded as a big success by many, especially since the one single Red Line (without the North / Red Line expansion) already had an average weekday ridership of over 36,000 in 2012. This is an extraordinary high ridership for just a 7.5 mile starter segment of light rail (not heavy rail).

This is likely to get higher and higher, as the North / Red Line Extention opened to the public in December 2013, and the Southeast / Purple Line and the East End / Green Line are both scheduled to open in 2014 still.

At the same time, it might seem unfortunate for many people, that construction of the University / Blue Line and Uptown / Gold Line is not underway yet. Quite the opposite, on the official METRO website, it states that "the University Line project is on hold, pending approval of new funding sources at this time." Just in the same way, it appears that the Uptown light rail line is not being built, instead, METRO and the Uptown Management District plan to construct a BRT line, that can easily be converted to light rail at a later time.

Some Houston residents already expressed how they think that the University Line would be a much-needed east-west link, even stating "it would be the best thing to ever happen in Houston". And many agree that the Uptown Line would be an urgently needed to the Galleria area, just as in the longer term, it seems to make sense to many to connect the North Line to George Bush International airport.

Then, there is the topic of commuter rail in the Houston area, especially the US 90A corridor looked like it might see construction starting within the next decade. But in September 2012, METRO's Board of Directors placed the US 90A Rail Corridor on hold, as everything is reassessed via the Transit Re-Imagining Plan. That draft transit plan that is part of transitsystemreimagining.com is expected to be available to the public in spring 2014.

With U.S. Representative John Culberson just having blocked any new federal funding for the University Line in January 2014, but supposedly supporting a possible east-west light rail route via West Park, as well as the US 90A corridor rail, these next years should continue to be eventful regarding rail transportation in Houston...


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## Crossover (Feb 18, 2014)

There was also past mention of the UP Houston to Bryan (College Station) route along Hempstead Rd and US290 being a possible NW extention . US290 is being widened and extended and is also known as the Presidential / Governors Route .


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## Crossover (Feb 18, 2014)

I also believe that Metro should build extentions to hobby ,Bush IAH , and Galveston Beach .


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## Sharon (Jun 18, 2014)

Support build 90a rail


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## beautifulplanet (Jun 22, 2014)

Thank you for the following comment:



Sharon said:


> Support build 90a rail



Even in June 2012, it might still have looked like commuter rail in the US 90A / Southwest Corridor would sometime soon become reality, as this article reported:

Plans Move Ahead For Houston's New Commuter Rail Line
Thursday, June 07, 2012 - 02:33 PM
By Gail Delaughter

http://www.wnyc.org/story/285565-plans-move-ahead-for-houstons-new-commuter-rail-line/

Still, as one can read on Metro's official website:



> On September 28, 2012, METRO's Board of Directors placed the US 90A/Southwest Rail Corridor project on hold to reassess investment priorities in the region.


See here:

http://www.ridemetro.org/CurrentProjects/90A-Southwest_RailCorridor.aspx

In case anybody knows rail advocacy groups that lobby for commuter rail in the Houston area, it might be helpful to mention them here, so everybody who is interested can join the existing efforts. 

An article published two days ago in the Houston Chronicle also tries to explore on reasons and effects of why a lot of rail efforts in Houston have been less comprehensive and less successful compared to rail systems found in the Dallas metro area:

Dallas, Houston follow different paths on rail development
By Dug Begley
June 20, 2014 | Updated: June 21, 2014 8:23pm

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/Dallas-Houston-follow-different-paths-on-rail-5567814.php


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## Green Maned Lion (Jun 23, 2014)

Because houstonites are especially dumb?


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## cirdan (Jun 23, 2014)

beautifulplanet said:


> An article published two days ago in the Houston Chronicle also tries to explore on reasons and effects of why a lot of rail efforts in Houston have been less comprehensive and less successful compared to rail systems found in the Dallas metro area:
> 
> Dallas, Houston follow different paths on rail development
> 
> ...


I wonder whether that self depreciating comparison is really totally fair.

Houston's first line was somewhere in the top three USA-wide in terms of ridership per mile of route, overtaking many systems that cost quite a bit more to build and that in a city that doesn't have a public transportation culture worth mentioning that it can build on. So I would call that pretty succesful and something to be proud of.

Of course this is also because of the importance of the places served and so we shouldn't expect the new lines to duplicate that. But still, one shouldn't deprecate what has been achieved.

Dallas on the other hand is struggling to meet its original ridership projections. Dallas is a good and well-built system and don't get me wrong, but it's not up there in the record breaking league.

Of course Houston is suffering from some extreme NIMBIism in preventing further lines. But I'm expecting this to be a temporary phenomenon. Once people see the trains in service and ride on them, they will cross over and start demanding more of them.


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## Shawn Ryu (Jun 23, 2014)

Green Maned Lion said:


> Because houstonites are especially dumb?


Well it is a oil industry hub.


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## Green Maned Lion (Jun 24, 2014)

Exactly.


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## beautifulplanet (Jun 25, 2014)

Thank you for your response about rail in Houston. 



cirdan said:


> > An article published two days ago in the Houston Chronicle also tries to explore on reasons and effects of why a lot of rail efforts in Houston have been less comprehensive and less successful compared to rail systems found in the Dallas metro area:
> >
> > Dallas, Houston follow different paths on rail development
> > By Dug Begley
> ...


It seems like the article linked above is behind a paywall now, it was not at the time of the original post. To everyone who did not or does not have a chance to read it: The author clearly seems to acknowledge Houston's successes with the existing MetroRail, definitely the high ridership per mile is mentioned. The article basically outlines the history of the passenger rail efforts in Dallas and Houston. It is not so much about Houston being "less successful" when it comes to miles of track (though of course that is mentioned), but about the rail efforts sometimes not being as successful, starting right in 1983, when in Houston a rail referendum did not pass, while in Dallas around the same time the voters basically approved the plan to construct DART lines all across the metro area.



cirdan said:


> Houston's first line was somewhere in the top three USA-wide in terms of ridership per mile of route, overtaking many systems that cost quite a bit more to build and that in a city that doesn't have a public transportation culture worth mentioning that it can build on. So I would call that pretty succesful and something to be proud of.
> 
> Of course this is also because of the importance of the places served and so we shouldn't expect the new lines to duplicate that. But still, one shouldn't deprecate what has been achieved.


Many might think that it is indeed surely legit to be proud of the success of the red line. And that definitely one should not depreciate what has been achieved. Some might conclude that the city of Houston really displayed wisdom and courage with the decision to go ahead and start construction the red line with all local funds, after initially any federal funding for rail was blocked thanks to the efforts of the local member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Tom DeLay. It's obvious to many, that investments are much less feasible if the financial weight has to be carried fully only by one, in this case the city of Houston, instead of receiving another percentage of funding from other sources. So many might think, kudos to Houston for the rail system that has been achieved so far, despite all the obstacles.



cirdan said:


> Dallas on the other hand is struggling to meet its original ridership projections. Dallas is a good and well-built system and don't get me wrong, but it's not up there in the record breaking league.
> 
> Of course Houston is suffering from some extreme NIMBIism in preventing further lines. But I'm expecting this to be a temporary phenomenon. Once people see the trains in service and ride on them, they will cross over and start demanding more of them.


Some might think, the majority of the 100,000+ who use DART's rail every weekday probably don't care about if the system they are using is in the record breaking league, as probably does the majority of everyone else who benefits from it while not riding it themselves. Many might think, Dallas' light rail system with more than 85 miles of track is impressive for a city that just started all of its rail efforts in the 1980s, and many might be thrilled that in just 2 months from now, DART light rail will even reach DFW airport.

Regarding rail in Houston, some might conclude that while it is great what was achieved so far, especially when it seems that there were so many obstacles, it would be great if more rail lines would be constructed soon. As mentioned above by crossover, some might think there should be some connection to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Others want to see an east-west crosstown link including direct rail access to the Galleria, and as mentioned above by guest_sharon, some might think commuter rail should be built...


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## George Harris (Jun 25, 2014)

A few minor points:

In the early to mid 80's Houston took money intended for a light rail system and spent it on highway express lanes.

The proposed Dallas area light rail planning and initial design started in 1985 or 6 and halted in 1988. It was supposed to built completely with loca funds. It then resurrected a few years later. By now all the initially planned system has been built. Initially the system was supposed to be under Pacific Avenue not in it. An unfortunate part of the early planning was the insistance on trying to dodge everything. Another part that led to its demise was the unwillingness of the board at that time to commit to doing any real work. There was the feel on the part of many that it was a paper generating project only, so it was strongly recommended to the board that they pick some part that had a solidly settled location and was not on the high end with cost and start construction. Making that sort of commitment was greeted with as much enthusiasm as being thrown off a cliff. Then with the economic downturn the anticipated local tax revenues declined and some of the local entities decided to pull out.

Another problem was the determination on the part of the engineering consultant to not underestimate the costs. They did not, but there was the thought on the part of many that the numbers were low balled anyway. They were not. This was proven when actual work did begin. Many contracts came in lower than the engineer's estimate.

Uhh, GML, if you think Houstonites in particular and Texas and other Southerners are so dumb, do all of us and youself a big favor and don't come down. It might shock you to find that a lot of people think it is a great place. And those of you that do come down: Don't try to get things to operate the way it did whereever you came from. If it works so great, why are things not prospering there and why did you leave?


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## cirdan (Jun 26, 2014)

beautifulplanet said:


> Regarding rail in Houston, some might conclude that while it is great what was achieved so far, especially when it seems that there were so many obstacles, it would be great if more rail lines would be constructed soon. As mentioned above by crossover, some might think there should be some connection to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Others want to see an east-west crosstown link including direct rail access to the Galleria, and as mentioned above by guest_sharon, some might think commuter rail should be built...


I don't know for usre, but to me it seems DFW airport is closer to downtown Dallas than George Bush International is to downtown Hosuton.

Maybe running Metrorail out there would be feasible. I don't know how long a Metrorail train would need but it might end up being too slow to be very competitive. I don't think Metrorail was conceived to be a long distance thing. It's more for the shorter hops it serves now. Unless, that is, Metrorail finds a way of threading an express service into its schedule. Otherwise, if a rail link to the airport is desired, a dedicated express link might be more attractive.

I rode the Metro bus from George Bush to downtown Dallas on my last visit (first time I had used it). It didn't seem to me there were many people on the bus, meaning that maybe there isn't really that much demand for such a service. I think there were about three people besides myself, although some more boarded the bus on its way downtown. On the other hand, the bus is also poorly advertised. I arrived at a different terminal and had to catch the peoplemover to change terminals. There was no sign in my terminal telling me about that or indeed anyything about there being a bus at all so if I hadn't googled it beforehand I would never have known (and been forced to take an expensive taxi as on my previous visits). So it seems to me that the bus isn't very important to the airport management and they aren't doing much to promote it. Would they be equally ambiguous about a rail link?


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## cirdan (Jun 26, 2014)

beautifulplanet said:


> Some might think, the majority of the 100,000+ who use DART's rail every weekday probably don't care about if the system they are using is in the record breaking league, as probably does the majority of everyone else who benefits from it while not riding it themselves. Many might think, Dallas' light rail system with more than 85 miles of track is impressive for a city that just started all of its rail efforts in the 1980s, and many might be thrilled that in just 2 months from now, DART light rail will even reach DFW airport.


When I was in Dallas and introduced to various friends of friends etc the topic of DART came up, and whereas none of the people I talked to said they used it with any regularity, they all thought it was a good thing it had been built.

The trains I rode on were all well used.

From reading the press however, there seems to be a lot of hostility and the impression that its all been a waste of money.

So I don't really know which of those views most accurately represents how people feel about it.


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 26, 2014)

If you rode a Metro bus from George Bush to downtown Dallas you were on I-45 that connects Houston with Dallas so either the driver got lost or else the reason there were so few passengers on the bus was that Mega Bus, the Dog and Southwest Airlines had all the traffic! LOL

I really like DART and TRE, what they've accomplished in such a short time and with a late start in a Car Culture Metroplex and anti-tax enviroment is nothing short of amazing!

I've only been on the Houston system downtown along Main St but if Houston (the new LA) can end up with a system like DFWs it will be just as amazing!


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## cirdan (Jun 26, 2014)

jimhudson said:


> If you rode a Metro bus from George Bush to downtown Dallas you were on I-45 that connects Houston with Dallas so either the driver got lost or else the reason there were so few passengers on the bus was that Mega Bus, the Dog and Southwest Airlines had all the traffic! LOL


oops, I meant downtown Houston of course.



jimhudson said:


> I really like DART and TRE, what they've accomplished in such a short time and with a late start in a Car Culture Metroplex and anti-tax enviroment is nothing short of amazing!
> 
> I've only been on the Houston system downtown along Main St but if Houston (the new LA) can end up with a system like DFWs it will be just as amazing!


The downtown section is really nice. They've obviously put a lot of thought into it and it integrates well with the surrounding city and the landscaping is to a high standard. In the downtown area the train stops every second block or so but further out the distances stretch a bit more so you can get to see some faster running. It's well worth riding end to end as every bit is a bit different.

It is surprisng though how many empty or under-utilized plots of land you pass, even in the downtown area. You don't really see that in Dallas to the same extent. I wonder what the story behind them is. When all those finally get built on it will increae the value and ridership of the service even further.


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## George Harris (Jun 26, 2014)

cirdan said:


> I rode the Metro bus from George Bush to downtown Dallas* Houston *on my last visit (first time I had used it). It didn't seem to me there were many people on the bus, meaning that maybe there isn't really that much demand for such a service. I think there were about three people besides myself, although some more boarded the bus on its way downtown. On the other hand, the bus is also poorly advertised. I arrived at a different terminal and had to catch the peoplemover to change terminals. There was no sign in my terminal telling me about that or indeed anyything about there being a bus at all so if I hadn't googled it beforehand I would never have known (and been forced to take an expensive taxi as on my previous visits). So it seems to me that the bus isn't very important to the airport management and they aren't doing much to promote it. Would they be equally ambiguous about a rail link?


I have also used the bus a couple of times. Likewise not many people. I think with more advertizing and directions to the stopping points at the terminals being clearer and more obvious and the stops themselves being better marked, ridership should explode.

It could be the lack of clear directions and marking is deliberate on the part of the airport. Don't forget airports collect considerable revenue from parking, and some from taxis as well, and the taxi companies do not want any public transportation competition. Hence, they tend to discourage if not outright oppose accessible public transortation. This form of opposition held up BART access to SFO for considerable period, I think for years. It is also why the BART fares into and out of SFO are higher that for any other equivalent distance on their system. AND, all this in the supposedly strongly pro-public transportation San Francisco Bay Area.


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## afigg (May 27, 2015)

The two new Houston light rail lines opened for passenger service on Saturday, May 23. Unfortunately just in time for major flooding from the storm.

Houston Chronicle: Metro rail lines open across Houston. Starting excerpt:



> Two new light rail lines might have been the ones debuting Saturday, but for many riders it was the East End, Third Ward and MacGregor Park neighborhoods themselves that were on display.


Hmm, running into a paywall on the second load of the article, so this may not be the best story link to use. Oh well.


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## cirdan (May 27, 2015)

I hope these new lines become a success and that the deadlock on the construction of the further proposed extensions can be broken.

I visited Houston in February and rode on the northern extension of the Red Line, which had opened some months previously.

The line is much more sinuous than the original Red Line and this leads to some slow running in places. This made me feel that the designers had accepted too many compromises, but then I don't know the back story to this. The area also looks more depressed than that served ny the original Red Line. I saw plenty of abandoned buildings (both residential and commercial) and others that, although probably still in use, were in poor condition and looked grim with obvious signs of poverty and progressing decline. In this setting, Metrorail with its clean, modern and well-designed trains and stops felt like something from another planet. The culture clash could not have been more marked.

On the other hand, there was in my eyes nothing fundamentally wrong with these neighborhoods. I mean, nothing like ugly highrise or belching smokestacks. Many of the houses looked as if with a bit of loving care and some dedicatiion they could become very marketable dwellings. There were plenty of mature trees and sizeable plots and the entire area had all the trappings of an area that could easily become attractive.

I look forward to seeing how much of this will have changed by my next visit, and of course I look forward to the two new lines.


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