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145-630: METRORail is the 22.7-mile (36.5 km) light rail system in Houston , Texas (United States). In 2023, the system had a ridership of 13,883,700, or about 42,200 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 10th most-traveled light rail system in the United States , and has the highest ridership per mile for light rail systems in

290-659: A 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  mi (2.4 km) radius of the Harris County Courthouse ), including the Houston Heights suburb, which was developed by Carter and required streetcar service due to its distance from central Houston. HCSR was acquired by the Houston Electric Company in 1901, which was managed by Stone & Webster and continued to expand the service, including the start of interurban service to Galveston provided by

435-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of

580-507: A $ 900 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to fund future construction. Allegations were made that METRO lied about the income from their sales tax revenue to allow them to gain $ 900 million in federal funds for all five planned rail expansions. However, city officials found no such attempt by METRO to mislead them, but the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) continued to withhold its approval for

725-651: A Katy line could "offer the potential for sizeable transit volume". By 2005, the Inner Katy corridor had been dropped from METRO Solutions. METRO began negotiations with Southern Pacific (SP) to acquire the tracks and right-of-way alongside the Eastex Freeway that were formerly owned by the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad and a conceptual agreement was reached in December 1992; METRO would re-use

870-454: A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between TxDOT, METRO, and Harris County , which identified requirements for the managed lanes, including prioritization of METRO buses and an option to convert those lanes to light rail transit in the future. The Gulf Coast Institute criticized the contradictions between TxDOT, which selected the managed lanes over rail due to insufficient projected transit demand, and METRO's Solutions Plan, which noted that

1015-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system

1160-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of

1305-1142: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In

1450-569: A contract to CAF on March 4, 2009. Later that month, METRO requested a Buy America waiver for two pilot vehicles which would be assembled by CAF in Spain; the FTA denied the waiver request, stating that CAF had signed a certificate of compliance with Buy America requirements. METRO proceeded to use local funds to pursue the pilot vehicle procurement, and the FTA opened an investigation in April 2010. Ultimately,

1595-470: A contract with Washington Group International (WGI); METRO/WGI issued a request for proposals for 103 firm new vehicles and an option of up to 75 additional vehicles on August 31, 2007. Although the FTA reminded METRO about federal procurement rules on multiple occasions, METRO told prospective bidders that Buy America rules did not apply (presumably because the RFP was issued by the private contractor) and awarded

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1740-578: A daily rate of $ 3 and a monthly hangtag contract of $ 40. The Burnett Transit Center was designed to have a park and ride facility next to the Casa de Amigos Health Center; it was scheduled to open in late 2014, but the project was canceled in 2011 and scaled back to a multimodal stop. For the original 2004 portion of the Red Line, the architectural firm Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville, of Houston,

1885-474: A light rail subway (226,800 daily; $ 1.572 billion), or a grade-separated heavy rail system with subway through the central business district (223,700 daily, $ 1.366 billion). At the time, it was estimated that 9.5 million person-trips were made per day in Harris County; of those, 98.7% were taken using private vehicles. METRO updated its 1980 Southwest/Westpark corridor proposal and extended

2030-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on

2175-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,

2320-543: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail

2465-563: A lower maximum speed of 55 mph (89 km/h). Externally, the H2 series are distinguishable by their flatter cab ends and circular headlamps, with the electronic destination sign (which use colored dots to indicate the line) conventionally mounted above the cab. Like the H1 series, they are normally used only on the Red Line and can be operated as single cars or in two-car trains. The H1 and H2 series are electrically compatible and can operate together in

2610-642: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to

2755-442: A new railyard/maintenance facility at Cavalcade. The 1983 proposal was rejected by Houston voters via referendum. Light voter turnout was blamed for the defeat of the $ 2.35 billion proposal, which included the purchase of approximately 400 new buses and construction of a 18.5 mi (29.8 km) heavy rail system. The capital cost of the rail system alone was estimated at $ 1.436 billion, including 130 new rail vehicles. In

2900-457: A public referendum on continuing the initial project. The initial segment runs between UH–Downtown (northern terminus) and Fannin South (southern terminus). The opening of METRORail, which took place on January 1, 2004, came 64 years after the previous streetcar system had been shut down. At the time, two extensions to the north and east were already in planning, and a concept was advanced for

3045-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit

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3190-668: A shorter route for the Southeast Corridor. The North and Southeast corridors received their records of decision from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in July 2008. Construction began in July 2009 on the 5.3-mile long (8.5 km) North/Red Line Extension (North Corridor), including nine stations from UH–Downtown to the Northline Transit Center Station. The 6.6-mile (10.6 km) Purple Line (Southeast Corridor), with ten stations, and

3335-628: A third extension west. The cost of the initial segment was $ 324 million. Tom DeLay strongly opposed construction of the METRORail line and twice blocked federal funding for the system in the United States House of Representatives . Thus the Metrorail was built without any federal funding until November 2011 when a $ 900 million grant was approved for expansions, under an executive order issued by President Barack Obama . In spite of

3480-400: A toll-free frontage road for the tollway. The Fort Bend Westpark Tollway will add an additional four lanes to this effort—resulting in an eight-lane road. TxDOT is funding construction of the tollway interchanges at State Highway 99 and FM 1464. Additionally, a 2012 expansion plan shows a Westpark Tollway addition to the city of Fulshear, Texas . The expansion promises a connection with

3625-534: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only

3770-563: A traffic and emergency management center for the city and surrounding region. Trains have priority signalling at intersections except for six stations near the medical center and downtown. At prioritized intersections, traffic lights for road traffic in all directions turn red when a train approaches. The Red Line is a 12.6-mile (20.3 km) double-tracked , 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge line with 24 stations approximately 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.8 km) apart, running from Fannin South to

3915-418: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as

4060-470: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail

4205-575: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in

4350-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over

4495-563: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over

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4640-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to

4785-502: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in

4930-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In

5075-559: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as

5220-484: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as

5365-532: Is subject to a fine of up to $ 500. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on the train platform and subject to the same fine as a Class C Misdemeanor. In the first year of METRORail, daily ridership, though increasing from 12,102 in January to 32,941 in October, tapered off slightly in the last two months of the year, and "fell short of the 35,000 goal transit officials had set" in early 2004, according to

5510-833: Is supplied at 600–750 volts DC from overhead wires, with nine substations (for the original 2004 portion). The line follows Main Street for eight stations from UH–Downtown to Wheeler station , then follows Fannin Street for the remainder of the original route until Fannin South. Northbound trains run on San Jacinto Street (rather than Fannin) for a small section of the route between the Wheeler and Museum District stations. The North/Red Extension runs along North Main Street until just after Quitman Near Northside , then turns onto Boundary Street until just before Fulton/North Central , and then runs along Fulton Street until Northline Transit Center . Significant businesses and institutions along

5655-471: Is the first fully electronic toll road in the United States. There are no tollbooths or toll collectors along either section of the route. The only way to legally drive on the road is by using a transponder unit attached to a vehicle's windshield (either HCTRA's EZ TAG , NTTA 's TollTag , TxTAG , PikePass from Oklahoma Turnpike Authority , or K-Tag from Kansas Turnpike Authority ). These transponders communicate with overhead sensors to deduct tolls from

5800-568: Is valued separately. $ 61 million of the liquidation was listed as "unrealized assets", including charges for redundant design contractors and changes. METRO put the METRONext Moving Forward Plan before Houston area voters in November 2019; voters approved the $ 3.5 billion bond by a margin of nearly two-to-one. Bonds issued will be used to extend existing light rail service. The Red Line will be expanded North to

5945-468: The Houston Chronicle . The line reached 75 million boardings in December 2011, four years ahead of schedule, but throughout that year, ridership numbers remained flat or showed small decreases. By 2012, average weekday ridership was 36,250. The North/Red Line Extension exceeded ridership projections by 62% in the first month of operation, averaging 4,200 weekday boardings in January 2014; this

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6090-542: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on

6235-545: The Katy Freeway west of Loop 610 to Texas State Highway 6 . A Major Investment Study for the Katy Freeway Expansion was started in 1994 and approved in October 1997; the draft and final environmental impact statements were completed by August 30, 2002. In preparation, TxDOT purchased a portion of the right-of-way for the old Katy Railroad from Union Pacific (UP) in 1992 for $ 78 million, and

6380-758: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway

6525-637: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened

6670-650: The Northline Transit Center Station. Almost the entire route is at grade and on city streets . The original 2004 portion from Fannin South to UH-Downtown is entirely at ground-level and at-grade with street traffic. However, on the North/Red Line Extension (from UH-Downtown to Northline Transit Center two small portions are elevated: the Burnett Transit Center station and a small section of track between Melbourne/North Lindale and Northline Transit Center on Fulton Street. Power

6815-874: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail

6960-703: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in

7105-544: The Texas Medical Center and Astrodome to the south, and another leg connecting downtown to Texas Southern University and the University of Houston . In 1991, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay removed $ 65 million in federal funding for the rail line and after Lanier was elected mayor of Houston in 1992, defeating Whitmire, the plan was stopped. Lanier's election was seen as a second referendum on the monorail plan;

7250-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in

7395-624: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit

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7540-578: The 3.2-mile (5.1 km), 9-station Green Line opened on May 23, 2015. The final two stations of the Green Line opened on January 11, 2017. A storage yard/inspection facility is located off of Harrisburg and Clifton. The standard fare for the rail lines is $ 1.25 for both cash and METRO Q Card riders; $ 3 for a Day Pass. A discount fare is available for qualified MetroQ Fare Card riders [those who are seniors 65-69, disabled, Medicare cardholders or full-time students (elementary, high school and university)];

7685-550: The 3.3-mile (5.3 km) Green Line , with nine stations, also began construction in July 2009. According to the project schedules, the Red Line Extension would enter revenue service by 2013 and the Green Line by 2014. However, METRO announced on September 9, 2010 that the opening dates for the Red Line Extension, Purple and Green lines had been pushed back to 2014 and by September 2014, the start date had slipped back to April 4, 2015. In November 2009, METRO applied for

7830-605: The CAF contract was canceled and 1 ⁄ 3 of the US$ 42  million contract was refunded to METRO. The North/Red Line extension opened on December 21, 2013 (ahead of its projected early 2014 opening), increasing the line to its current total of 12.8 miles (20.6 km) and 24 stations. Central Station was added to the Red Line to provide transfers to/from the Purple and Green lines. After numerous delays, all but two stations on

7975-408: The FTA in July but METRO had not announced a construction schedule or funding plan. Since then, BRT service has been proposed along the corridor instead. METRO published the "Uptown-West Loop Planning Study" in 2004, which was a proposed light rail line along Post Oak Boulevard and West Inner Loop, connecting new stations at Bellaire (at the junction with U.S. Route 59) and Northwest Transit Center (at

8120-525: The Fannin South station. The right-of-way and the stations for the original 2004 line were built by three contractors for approximately $ 115 million: Texas Sterling Construction Co. of Houston, Bencon Management of Houston and Beers Construction Co. of Atlanta. The line construction was divided into five sections, with a resident engineer for each section, to speed up construction. The 6.7-mile (10.8 km), 10-station Purple Line, and seven stations of

8265-495: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with

8410-421: The H2 series cars. In the spring of 2011, METRO purchased a further 19 Siemens S70 vehicles (the same model as its original 18), citing the need to accommodate ridership that was 4 years ahead of expectations and to get cars more quickly. These cars were options under a contract for Utah Transit Authority 's TRAX system, which METRO purchased for $ 83 million after UTA decided not to exercise its options. As with

8555-494: The METRO organization was a "private business" and subject to Houston City Charter provisions requiring a public vote on business use of its streets; the ceremony was cancelled following a temporary restraining order, issued by Judge Tony Lindsay on January 18. Todd was joined as co-plaintiff by Allan Vogel, one of 1,100 residents who signed a petition seeking a public vote on the light rail plan. Judge Lindsay later recused herself from

8700-569: The METRORail system, METRO turned to CAF USA , with a total order of 105 cars placed in May 2010. A subsequent investigation by the Federal Transit Administration determined the procurement violated the Buy America Act , and the US$ 42  million order was cancelled in February 2011. CAF gave a partial refund of US$ 14  million, which METRO applied to the purchase of what would become

8845-608: The North Shepherd park & ride, and both the Green and Purple lines will be expanded east and south to William P Hobby Airport , and west to the Houston Municipal Courthouse. In addition, new BRT lines would be set up along corridors that had previously been identified for light rail transit including Inner Katy and University; another new BRT line would bridge the gap between the northern terminus of

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8990-502: The North, Southeast, and University Corridor projects included up to US$ 205  million to expand the LRV fleet to 104 vehicles and replace the existing 19 LRVs on the Red Line. METRO selected a public-private partnership model for the North and Southeast corridors, where the contracted firm would be responsible for vehicle procurement and operation and maintenance of those lines, and entered

9135-574: The Red Line and Bush Airport, and a new north-south BRT service would operate along the western leg of Beltway 8. A long extension or possible commuter rail line from Fannin South to Sugar Land and beyond has been studied since 2004. The route would parallel U.S. 90A in the existing right-of-way used by the Glidden subdivision owned by UP. In 2011, the Southwest Rail Corridor was proposed to connect Fannin South and Missouri City. This

9280-484: The Red Line route include the University of Houston–Downtown , Houston's restaurant district near Preston Station, the Downtown Transit Center, Houston's museum district, Rice University , Memorial Hermann Hospital , the Texas Medical Center and NRG Stadium . A park & ride parking lot is available at one station: Fannin South. It has approximately 1,200 parking spaces. Parking fees included

9425-605: The Red Line. Designated by the manufacturer as S70 and based roughly on earlier vehicles built for Portland's MAX Light Rail system, each vehicle is 96 feet (29 m) long and has a top speed of 66 mph (106 km/h). They have a capacity of 72 seated and approximately 169 standing passengers, or a total capacity of around 241 per car. This approximately 250-person capacity has been reached on certain Super Bowl weekends. The H1 series cars are distinguishable by their streamlined cab ends and rectangular headlamps , with

9570-718: The Southern US. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO). The first streetcar service was a mule-drawn railcar operated by the Houston City Railroad Company along McKinney Street in 1868. Because the company chose a bad street alignment, the nascent line foundered after just weeks in service. It was succeeded by the Houston City Street Railway (HCSR), which

9715-586: The Southwest Freeway ( I-69 )/( US 59 ), the West Sam Houston Tollway ( Beltway 8 ), and Grand Parkway ( State Highway 99 ), along with several minor interchanges. The namesake of the tollway is Westpark Drive—an east–west major arterial running through a mostly industrial area. Like other toll roads in the Houston area , the speed limit is 65 mph (105 km/h)—even inside Beltway 8. The Westpark Tollway

9860-536: The Texas State Fair, where it continued to run until 1964. Rapid Transit Lines , the successor to HCSR and Houston Electric, proposed a rapid transit system as a long-range project under the 1971 "Transit Action Program" (TAP), developed by Alan M. Voorhees and Associates, largely laid out along the radial spokes centered in the Inner Loop , tracing the city's major freeways. TAP would be implemented in two stages. In Stage 1, 40 mi (64 km) of rapid transit routes would be built, including fixed rail lines serving

10005-505: The UP was scheduled to begin track removal in the last half of 1997. In all, 28 mi (45 km) of track were removed from Katy/Fort Bend Road in Brookshire to Canal Street in Houston. The adopted alternative for the expanded freeway called for an at-grade roadway with a total right-of-way width of 475 ft (145 m); in each direction, there would be two managed lanes closest to the center, flanked by four main lanes, up to two auxiliary lanes, and three frontage road lanes. That year,

10150-476: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers

10295-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition

10440-666: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it

10585-590: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System

10730-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There

10875-730: The United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail

11020-702: The Uptown District of Houston. The Fort Bend section of the Westpark Tollway is patrolled by Fort Bend County Constable, Precinct 4. Additional coverage is provided by the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department or other agencies as needed. Parallel to the Fort Bend Westpark Tollway, FM 1093 has been widened by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to four lanes. FM 1093 at this location serves as

11165-544: The West Inner Loop. The planned route would run from downtown Houston along Main Street to approximately Elgin, and west from Elgin to West Belt along existing public and rail rights-of-way. Service options that could be operated along the corridor included a dedicated busway on an elevated structure (carrying 203,500 daily riders at an estimated capital construction cost of $ 878 million), an elevated light rail system (213,400 daily passengers; $ 1.297 billion),

11310-468: The Westpark Tollway. The Harris County portion of the tollway right-of-way was acquired by HCTRA from METRO , which had previously purchased the entire railroad right-of-way from Southern Pacific in 1992. The Westpark corridor has a storied history as a transportation possibility. Originally on the books in the 1950s as the location of what is now Interstate 69 / U.S. Highway 59 (Southwest Freeway) before developers lured it south to serve Sharpstown,

11455-758: The Westpark corridor has seen several transportation plans. The first time a toll road was mentioned was in a 1979 survey of several routes by the Texas Turnpike Authority , leading to the construction of the Hardy Toll Road in Northern Harris County by HCTRA. A heavy rail line along the corridor was floated in the 1980s, but failed to win voter approval, along with a monorail that was ended with Mayor Kathy Whitmire in 1991. Another commuter rail idea ended as METRO purchased

11600-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas

11745-467: The ability to easily convert the line to light rail in the future. This will allow the line to be functional as early as 2017. Following METRO's 2010 annual audit, the agency decided to cancel the Burnett Plaza project. $ 41 million was spent on the initial design of the proposed intermodal terminal. This was part of a $ 168 million asset liquidation. The price of the land $ 21 million

11890-547: The affiliated Galveston–Houston Electric Railway in 1911. However, the popularity of privately-owned automobiles began to displace demand for streetcar service and the system stopped expanding after 1927. Several streetcar lines were converted to conventional bus lines in 1936, and the right-of-way for the Interurban was sold in 1940, later being reused for the Gulf Freeway . The last streetcar completed its run early in

12035-465: The case due to her personal ties to Todd and her husband 's public opposition to METRO. She was succeeded by District Judge John P. Devine , who issued an injunction on February 2, halting work on the light rail project and holding up contract awards. A second lawsuit was filed by four property owners. The injunction issued by Judge Devine in Todd's lawsuit was reversed on appeal on March 9, 2001. Ground

12180-866: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in

12325-426: The center of the street; however, the southbound tracks between the Wheeler and Museum-District stations run along the left side. The downtown Houston tracks along Capitol and Rusk streets run along the south side of the streets. Furthermore, these light rail trains run in mixed traffic, sharing a lane with buses and other vehicles — often being their turn lane. METRORail operations are controlled from Houston TranStar,

12470-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in

12615-435: The corridor and planned to run trains, but reversed itself and floated plans for a reversible high occupancy vehicle and bus transit lane to supplement the Southwest Freeway, tearing out the tracks in the mid 1990s. In 1999, HCTRA and METRO reached an agreement for half of the 100-foot (30 m) right-of-way to go towards a toll road run by HCTRA and the other half for use by METRO for light rail. [1] Whether or not it will be

12760-409: The day to 20 minutes off-peak. The light rail lines can handle three-minute headways during peak hours and have a design capacity of 8,000 people/hour in each direction while using two-car trains with such a headway. The scheduled time for an end-to-end trip through the entire 12.8-mile (20.6 km) Red Line is on average 55 minutes. Tracks on all three lines are usually in dedicated right-of-way in

12905-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of

13050-755: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in

13195-625: The discounted fare is $ 0.60 for cash or $ 1.50 for a Day Pass. All discount riders must show ID (except for elementary and high school students). Free rides to METRO buses are available with the MetroQ Fare Card only, for 3 hours in any direction. Paper transfers from buses were accepted from July 2015 to March 2016 on a trial basis boarded for free: before noon good until 15:00, after it to end of service day. The MetroQ Fare Card holders can earn "Rider Rewards" of 5 free trips for every 50 paid trips. Tickets and cards are purchased from machines at

13340-400: The distance between crosswalks in downtown city blocks; station platforms are low-floor and 350 millimetres (14 in) high. The line includes a 760 m long (2,490 ft) bridge along Main Street which separates the double-track main line and a third pocket track from UP's line and three streets. A yard and a maintenance facility for the Red Line is connected by loop track to the south of

13485-572: The eastern end of the Green Line opened on May 23, 2015, while Cesar Chavez/67th Street and Magnolia Park entered service on January 11, 2017 after the construction of an overpass. Both the Purple and Green lines, together costing $ 1.3 billion, share a track segment in downtown, then run east and diverge. Plans for the Inner Katy rail line (east of Loop 610) under the METRO Solutions Plan (2003) conflicted with existing plans to widen

13630-552: The eastern terminus north by 5.1 mi (8.2 km), combining it with the proposed North corridor as the "Houston Rail Rapid Transit Project"; the extended line now ran north past I-10 and the North Inner Loop to Crosstimbers. The design called for 11.5 mi (18.5 km) of elevated tracks, 1.9 mi (3.1 km) of subway, and 4.8 mi (7.7 km) at-grade. The system would have 17 passenger stations (eight aerial, six at-grade, and three subway), and included

13775-408: The electronic destination sign (which have been modified to indicate the line with a colored square) mounted directly in front of the cab rather than above it. They are normally used only on the Red Line and can be operated as single cars or in trains of two cars coupled together, though two-car trains have become the norm due to increasing ridership and the arrival of the H2 series. For expansion of

13920-500: The extended Southwest/Westpark corridor between the Houston Galleria and downtown Houston. The proposed monorail system would operate with an initial 14 mi (23 km) segment servicing western residential regions west of downtown to Beltway 8 ( Sam Houston Tollway ), with construction planned to start in 1993 and revenue service to begin by 1998. Future planned expansions included one leg that would connect downtown with

14065-498: The funding was diverted to road projects and police patrols instead. After these setbacks, Houston drew up a rail plan without federal subsidies and published it in 1997 as the Houston METRO 2020 Regional Transit Plan. The Houston city council approved the light rail project in November 2000 and set a January 25, 2001 date for a groundbreaking ceremony, but councilmember Rob Todd filed a lawsuit opposing construction, claiming

14210-504: The future Fulshear Parkway, and additional direct connection flyovers with SH-99. Construction of phase one to extend Westpark Tollway from the Grand Parkway to just west of Spring Green Boulevard began in February 2016 and was finished in November 2017. From 2017 to 2020, FM 1093 was expanded from two to four lanes from the Grand Parkway to James Lane near Fulshear; the highway will serve as frontage roads for future extensions of

14355-478: The inner loop (I-610). Longtime Houston Mayor Kathryn Whitmire appointed Bob Lanier to chair METRO in 1988; Lanier shepherded a voter referendum that year which passed, approving the Phase 2 Regional Mobility Plan which included 20-mile (32 km) of fixed guideway transit. Under the 1988 referendum, METRO would devote 1 ⁄ 4 of its sales tax revenue on roads, 1 ⁄ 2 on improving bus service, and

14500-464: The junction with I-10). In the alternatives analysis, bus rapid transit (BRT) service was considered and dismissed as an alternative to light rail, due to the reduced capacity of BRT vehicles and the strong community preference for rail. Due to lack of funds, it was announced in early 2013 that the Uptown Line will be constructed initially as a bus rapid transit (BRT) line. The design will feature

14645-458: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is

14790-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along

14935-462: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with

15080-526: The line for commuter rail service. However, after METRO decided to purchase a subset of the original agreement at a fraction of the agreed-upon price, SP sued and the a settlement was reached in 1997, with METRO purchasing 58 mi (93 km) for $ 72 million. Shortly after the purchase was completed, business interests pressured METRO into selling a portion of the right-of-way to the Harris County Toll Road Authority, which

15225-478: The main corridor for the University Line is a contentious issue; Richmond Avenue, to the north, emerged as another option under consideration, along with the fact that Westpark Drive and its corresponding railroad right-of-way do not intersect METRORail at any point, much less Wheeler Station , which was chosen as the junction between the lines. As of 2006, a final corridor has not been chosen. As of 2014,

15370-484: The money until further figures can be examined. On December 8, 2011, the FTA finally announced the award. The award of $ 900 million was broken into two $ 450 million grants from the New Starts transit program, to fund construction of the Red Line Extension and Purple lines. METRO offered the public a chance to name stations on its expansion lines. Part of the funding allocated by the FTA under its New Starts program for

15515-650: The morning of June 9, 1940, and the rails were later removed and scrapped during World War II. A 'sample' monorail line was built in Houston in 1955; the Trailblazer operated over a 1,600 ft (490 m) line at Arrowhead Park with a peak speed of 10 mph (16 km/h), starting on February 18, 1956. The monorail ceased operation in September of that year and subsequently was moved to Fair Park in Dallas for

15660-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing

15805-406: The opposition of some groups to the Metrorail, surveys conducted by Stephen Klineberg and Rice University have shown consistent increases in support of rail transport and decreases in support for bigger and better roads/highways in the Houston metropolitan area in recent years. Klineberg considers these changes a "paradigm shift" or "sea change" on attitudes towards mass transit. METRORail Phase II

15950-592: The peak direction during rush hour. Westpark Tollway The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) and the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority (FBCTRA) operate the Westpark Tollway jointly. The 14-mile (23 km) HCTRA section is simply named Westpark Tollway; however, the 8-mile (12 km) section of the toll road operated by the FBCTRA is named Fort Bend Westpark Tollway. There are three major interchanges in between:

16095-477: The previous H1 generation, these new cars were built in Florin, California , but they differ slightly from the cars Utah received in detail, including having more air-conditioning units . They were delivered in October 2012 and entered service that December. The H2 series cars are shorter than the H1 series, at 85.3 feet (26.0 m) in length, accommodate slightly fewer passengers (60 seated, 225 maximum), and have

16240-452: The remaining 1 ⁄ 4 on developing the fixed guideway plans, but Lanier showed reluctance to follow through on developing plans for a fixed guideway, questioning the projected ridership numbers, and Whitmire fired him in late December 1989. Incensed, Lanier released a memorandum attacking the mayor's rail transit plans, and Whitmire responded by holding a press conference on Lanier's front lawn during his annual Christmas party. Houston

16385-556: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have

16530-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as

16675-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in

16820-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of

16965-671: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both

17110-452: The same train. Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT ) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in

17255-488: The southwest, west, and northeast parts of Houston (with a downtown subway), and three bus-exclusive lanes along the North, Gulf, and South freeways. Stage 1 was planned to complete in the 1970s at an estimated cost of $ 800 million. Under Stage 2, scheduled for completion before 1990, the Stage 1 rail lines would be extended and two more would be added, bringing the total system to 80 mi (130 km). TAP would have been

17400-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which

17545-408: The stations. No charge applies to Texans / Dash / Dynamo home game days with game ticket, nor to seniors over 70 or to children under 5 who ride with an adult (limit 3). Fare collection, like most light rail systems in the United States, is based on a proof-of-payment system: METRO's fare inspectors randomly check tickets and cards aboard trains. Failure to pay the fare is a Class C Misdemeanor and

17690-456: The system opposed METRO for spending public funds for "educational advertisements" about the proposed system, which critics claimed promote the referendum. Critics further claimed that the main political action committee (PAC) supporting the bond had a conflict of interest because it received over US$ 100,000 in contributions from contractors and equipment suppliers for METRORail who stood to gain financially from its expansion. By 2004, Rep. DeLay

17835-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience

17980-585: The technical basis for the proposed Houston Area Rapid Transit Authority (HARTA), but a referendum to form HARTA was "soundly defeated" in 1973. The city of Houston purchased Rapid Transit Lines in April 1974 for $ 5.3 million and renamed it the Houston Transit System ("HouTran"). Houston formed the Office of Public Transportation in January 1975 to plan the region's public transportation system, and began working on an update of TAP. After METRO

18125-503: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power

18270-511: The user's toll account. The Fort Bend section ties into the HCTRA portion of the tollway and is operated by the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority (FBCTRA), under the alias of the Fort Bend Westpark Tollway. The project, completed on August 10, 2005, improves auto mobility for residents in northeastern Fort Bend County by creating a new east–west corridor with access to State Highway 6 , Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8), I-69 / US 59 , and

18415-460: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath

18560-467: The wake of the 1983 defeat, METRO began work on a regional transit plan, integrating inputs from city, county, and state governments and developing three options for implementation: A (bus routes only), B (light rail loop and radial bus routes), or C (light rail with supplemental bus routes); after approximately 250 meetings were held in 1984 and 1985, citizens overwhelmingly supported Option C, with planned light rail service to operate along Main Street within

18705-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be

18850-430: Was 1,600 more boardings than projected for the extension through September 30, 2014 (the end of the METRORail's fiscal year). Notable records in ridership have occurred on the following dates: METRO currently operates three generations of light rail vehicles. All of them are double-articulated , 70% low-floor vehicles with four low-platform doors per side to provide level boarding . The original fleet of 18 vehicles

18995-464: Was broken on the original 7.5-mile long (12.1 km), 16-station portion of the Main Street (now Red) Line on March 13, 2001. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the appellate court ruling on June 28. That November, voters approved Proposition 1, which allowed the light rail project to continue, but required public referendums for future extensions, and rejected Proposition 3, which would have initiated

19140-461: Was built by Siemens Transportation Systems in Sacramento , California; the $ 117.9 million contract for Siemens included the light rail infrastructure (traction power, signals, and communication systems) and an initial order of 15 light rail vehicles. Three additional vehicles were ordered in 2002. 101 to 115 were delivered in 2003 and 116 to 118 in 2004, for the opening of the first stage of

19285-459: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt

19430-558: Was eventually developed into the Westpark Tollway . By 2006, a proposed revised corridor along Richmond was drawing opposition from local business owners and Texas Rep. Martha Wong , who advocated for a route along Westpark instead. In August 2010, a budget shortfall of $ 49 million was announced by METRO, which halted progress on the University Line . The line had received a final Federal Record of Decision letter from

19575-497: Was formed in 1978/79, an initial Phase I alternatives analysis identified multiple potential transit corridors, and under Phase II, proposed in 1980, the "Southwest/Westpark" corridor (along what is now the Westpark Tollway ) was prioritized for further study. The proposed Southwest/Westpark corridor would have run 13.1 mi (21.1 km), generally parallel to the Southwest Freeway , with equal lengths west and east of

19720-548: Was founded in 1870 and began revenue operation in 1874 with routes following busy merchant districts along Congress Avenue and Main Street, the latter of which ran to one of the first sites of the Texas State Fair ; the area was subsequently developed and is now Midtown, Houston . A competing service, the Bayou City Street Railway, was started in 1883 with a single route along Texas Avenue, but it

19865-471: Was hailing the leadership team at METRO for both its "vision for a mobile Houston region, and the kind of open minds and flexible management style it will take to realize that vision", adding that "[METRO] are holding a forum to look at all forms of technology and how those technologies fit into the mobility in Houston"; at least one observer noted that DeLay was advocating for "innovative rail solutions", not light rail. In 2004, an alternatives analysis selected

20010-405: Was in charge of the final architectural/engineering design and design support, with a $ 2.3 million contract. However, all stations south of Burnett Transit Center were designed by the Houston office of St. Louis-based architectural firm Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum . All stations are of similar design—250 feet (76 m) long and partially covered by glass roofs. Station length was constrained by

20155-525: Was included as part of the METRO Solutions Transit System Plan (aka Metro Solutions Plan or 2025 Regional Transit Plan) that was placed before voters on the November 4, 2003 ballot. Phase II included six proposed light rail segments to complement and extend the Main Street line, then under construction. Voters approved the $ 1.23 billion Phase II expansion of the as-yet unopened system, including four new lines. Critics of

20300-677: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in

20445-546: Was not constructed, but the METRONext plan includes a similar route extended to Sugar Land which it describes as a "future METRORail potential partnership." The light rail lines operate all 7 days of the week. They begin operations at 3:30 a.m. weekdays and 4:30 a.m. weekends and end service at 12:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday nights, 2:45 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights and, 12:30 a.m. Sunday nights. Scheduled train frequency varies from 6 minutes during

20590-413: Was purchased and folded into HCSR later that year. A new competitor, also named Bayou City Street Railway, was founded in 1889; the new Bayou City was purchased and consolidated into HCSR in 1890 by Oscar Carter, who also announced plans to electrify the system. By 1892, electrification of the existing streetcar lines was complete and extensions began past the immediate downtown/central Houston area (within

20735-632: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of

20880-555: Was the largest city in the United States without a rail system after the 1990 opening of the now A Line in Los Angeles . After issuing an RFP in July 1990, METRO received five proposals for the design and development of the fixed guideway system. In March 1991, METRO approved a plan to develop a monorail system similar to the one operating at Walt Disney World in Orlando at an estimated cost of $ 1.27 billion, operating along

21025-527: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In

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