METRO Rolls Out The New Bus System

Even though I possess a valid Texas driver's license that I had to fight nine months to get renewed and missed the 2013 city elections as a result, I am an enthusiastic public transportation supporter, especially if the system question has a rail component.   I have no problem riding public transportation  to my hotels when I travel.

Here in my hometown, METRO has been planning for two years an overhaul of our bus system so that the routes are not only straighter and run more frequently on the weekends. it is also redesigning the routes so that you don't have to go to downtown to transfer and they connect better with the light rail lines and transit centers..

There are 22 Red routes that are scheduled to run every 15-30 minutes, the Blue routes every 31-60 minutes, and the Green routes every hour.

They are also designing routes so they go to the destinations that people need to get to in the 2k15, and not when METRO took over the city bus system in 1978.

The METRO New Bus Network  got rolled out Sunday, and as with any massive undertaking like redoing a bus network, it hasn't happened without some problems and glitches.  Monday was also the first day that the new system was tested under workday conditions and traffic.

And since the system hasn't been changed on such a massive scale since 1978, it's also a major adjustment for veteran riders of it.  Some are liking the changes, others aren't.   But METRO believes that once the kinks get worked out, it will be a more efficient and user friendly way to get around our massive hometown

The good news is that during this opening week rollout of the revamped system, rides are free on the local bus and METRORail lines through August 22

Definitely need to test it out while it's free and save that money on my Qcard.

METRORail Green and Purple Lines FINALLY Open Today

You long time readers know that I am a rail enthusiast, and one of the things I was happy to see was METRO build a rail component to our transit system that started construction with a 7.5 mile (12.1 km) segment that opened for service in January 2004.

The METRORail Red Line has been wildly successful, with ridership projections four years ahead of schedule.  After a successful  2003 referendum to expand the system to four lines, construction on the 5.3 mile (8.5 km) Red Line North Extension, the 3.3 mile (5.3 km) Green and (6.6 mile (10.6 km) Purple Lines began in 2009 with an original target date of 2012 completion for the Red Line extension and 2014 for the Green and Purple Lines.

But while the North Extension opened early in December 2013, construction delays, rolling stock procurement issues, and other problems caused by non-METRO construction projects pushed the opening of the Green and Purple Lines back to 2014, and eventually to today's opening date.

The Harrisburg bridge that will carry the Green Line over freight rail tracks and to the Magnolia Transit Center just broke ground in March and won't be completed until 2016.

The Gold Line through the Galleria area is being built initially as a bus rapid transit lane which will be able to be easily converted to light rail service in the future.   That will allow it to be operational in 2017, while the needed east west University Line is on hold pending funding.

But the long awaited day is here, and METRO is celebrating with a free Railfest concert at BBVA Compass Stadium featuring Ne-Yo Frankie J and a fireworks finale.    BBVA Compass Stadium sits at the junction between the Green and Purple Lines. 

And just as was done when the North extention opened, rides on the rail system will be free all day.

The opening of the Green and Purple lines means that as of today, METRORail is not just one rail line, but a system spanning much of my hometown, with hopefully future expansion to Hobby and Intercontinental airports and the addition of a commuter rail component.

But until then, I'll take advantage of my free rides that start up in a few hours..

METRORail Green and Purple Lines Opening Delayed Until 2015

One of the presents we Houston light rail enthusiasts were hoping to get this Christmas was the opening of the METRORail Green and Purple lines this month like METRO did for the Red Line extension last year.

The opening of the lines had already been delayed earlier this year to October.  Because of problems with the Siemens axle counters that help METRO keep track of the rail cars and construction damage to a chilled water pipe under the Purple Line downtown, it pushed the opening of the new lines back to April 2015.

The opening of those lines when it finally happens will add another 10 miles of track to the already operational METRORail Red Line.

Far from 'nobody riding it' as rail critics deriding it as 'the toy train' loudly sneer,  the METRORail is four years ahead of ridership projections with over 100 million boardings on just one 12.8 mile rail line.   It is the second heaviest traveled rail system in the southern US.

One of the things delaying the opening is the new 1000 room Marriott Marquis Convention Hotel being constructed near the shared tracks of the Green and Purple Lines by Minute Maid Park.   A chilled water pipe under that line was accidentally damaged by construction workers. 

The repairs to it required tearing up the roadway, the section of light rail track above the damaged chilled water line it along with the fiber optics and communications, and then rebuilding and testing it to ensure it works properly.  That process took twelve weeks, making it next to impossible for METRO to open the lines this year.

While we're waiting for service to start on the Green and Purple Lines, there has been progress made in getting the CAF rolling stock that will be transiting the new lines when they finally do open for revenue service.   

Out of the 39 cars contracted for by METRO, 12 have been delivered.  Car 301, the lead one in the CAF ordered rail vehicles has successfully completed its 'burn-through' testing..

Construction has also been completed on the Central Transit Station which although it isn't as show stopping as the one the design contest winners came up with, will be ready when the Green and Purple lines finally open for service.

Aww, METRORail Purple Line Opening Delayed Until December

I live about five blocks from where the METRORail Purple Line will terminate, and I have had a ringside seat for its construction, soon to be completion and anxiously anticipated by moi opening.

That was supposed to happen in October for the new Purple and Green Lines, but according to  Swamplot, that's not going to happen until December for several reason not including the delay in getting the needed 39 railcars from CAF USA to start the new service.

Houston Rapid Transit, the contractor building the two new rail lines, won't be ready to turn the rail lines over to METRO until September 30.  It will then take METRO sixty days to prepare the rail lines for revenue service. 

In addition, the live wire testing is happening on both lines along with the initial construction of the second downtown 1000 room convention center area  hotel scheduled to open in 2016. 


The Altic and Cesar Chavez stations on the far end of the Green Line won't be accessible until the rail only overpass crossing the Union Pacific freight railroad tracks is completed.  

It was going to be a rial and traffic underpass, but chemical contamination combined with liability concerns caused METRO despite the desires of the community to go with the overpass option.

Well, we've waited this long for the new Purple and Green Lines, what's another few weeks?  

Now if we can get the federal funding we need to get the east-west Blue Line started to connect the rest of our rail system with the planned Bus Rapid Transit Gold Line in the Galleria area.

White Suburban Houstonians-If You Want Rail...

Tell your GOP legislators representing you to stop messing with METRO's ability to get federal dollars so we can build it faster.

As y'all know I am an enthusiastic proponent of public transit, especially when it comes to adding rail to the mix. 

One of the reasons our local transit agency METRO was founded in 1978 was to take over the HouTran bus system which was plagued with frequent service problems and an elderly bus fleet ina rapidly growing city.   Part of the sizzle that sold the initial creation of METRO and the 1 cent tax many of us in the area pay to fund it was the promise of a heavy rail subway system that was supposed to have become operational in the 1990's.  

But fighting the creation of that METRO rail component has been a staple of local conservafool politics since the 1980's.   A coalition comprised of the Harris County Republican Party, right wing Houston Republican councilmembers like Rob Todd in concert with Rep Tom DeLay and Rep. John Culberson along with the useful fools with NIMBY syndrome have fought every METRO plan to that sough to add a rail component to our large bus oriented system citing cots or other specious reasons as our city continued to grow along with the traffic problems on our expansive freeway system. 

DeLay as part of those efforts to block rail got $65 million in federal funding stripped from the project.  But other leaders and visionaries who had Houston's long term future in mind also noted that a city as expansive as ours could no longer have a transit system exclusively reliant on buses, needed a rail component and fought just as fiercely to make it happen.  
They got around the federal funding roadblock that DeLay placed in its way by coming up with a locally funded plan to build a 7.5 mile long light rail line from Reliant Stadium to downtown Houston terminating at UH Downtown.

That plan was fought in the courts with rail proponents prevailing, and on March 13, 2001 ground was broken on the METRORail Red Line that opened to service January 1, 2004. 

A subsequent narrowly approved 2003 referendum authorized the expansion of METRORail with non-white communities providing the critical votes to get that victory.  Construction subsequently started on the North Line (Red Line extension), East End (Green) and Southeast (Purple) lines while planning on the University (Blue) and Uptown (Gold) continues.

While the sorely needed east-west oriented Blue Line has gotten the final FTA approval it needs before construction can begin, it's the lack of federal money that's the problem. 

The start of construction on the Blue and Gold Lines has been on hold pending additional federal funding, but a BRT (bus rapid transit) proposal to get the Gold Line through the Galleria corridor started has been gaining ground.  One of the appealing parts of the plan is that it could be completed as early as 2017 with the ability to convert it to light rail later if needed.

Where the grousing has been coming from is the outside I-610 Loopers whining about the fact the initial rail lines have not only been built inside the Loop, but have been extended to predominately Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Well, let's be real about that.  Black and Latino voters were the major reasons the 2003 rail expansion referendum passed, and it's logical and only fair that the first expanded lines went to serve those neighborhoods who actually use public transportation.

Since the goal is to eventually connect the light rail system to Hobby and Intercontinental airports via the Red and Purple lines, the ideal routes to get there pass through those same predominately Black and Latino neighborhoods chock full of people who have no qualms taking public transpeople and who will use the light-rail system once it is built because it's faster than taking the bus.

The Purple Line passes by the University of Houston on its way to its current southern terminus at the Palm Center Transit Center which is 5.5 miles from Hobby. (and a few tantalizing blocks from where I currently live)   The Green Line on its 3.3. mile journey passes BBVA Compass Stadium.  Once the lines merge at the stadium they share track together into downtown past the George R. Brown Convention Center, Discovery Green, Minute Maid Park and terminate just past the Wortham and Hobby Centers.

The Outside the Loopers not only want light rail routes to their areas, but also want commuter rail.  I agree with them. 

I'd like that too as an Inside the Looper   I'd love to have another way to get to Galveston besides driving down I-45 south or a Greyhound bus ride.  A commuter rail route would be just the ticket to do so, especially if it made a stop in the Clear Lake area so you could access NASA, Space Center Houston and the Kemah Boardwalk.  Since Galveston now has cruise ships departing from it, would be nice to have a way to get down there for those cruises and leave your car parked in your driveway   

Frankly we could also use commuter rail from Katy eastbound to connect with the future Gold Line and in that 290 Cypress-Jersey Village corridor to that point as well.   A commuter rail line would also be helpful coming from the Woodlands and Kingwood south, from Baytown going west and the Pearland-Manvel area going north.   There is a commuter rail line being discussed and studied that would run from Missouri City-Sugar Land to connect with the METRORail Red Line Fannin South terminus. 

But here the rub to making that all happen.  Money is the first issue.  The other is many of those areas I mentioned are represented by Republicans, a party that as I have noted is anti-public transportation, anti-progress and anti-rail.   
        
The bottom line is that we cannot keep building freeways in the Houston metro area forever. We are now working on a third freeway loop around the city of Houston primarily connecting the exurbs called the Grand Parkway, and building freeways is more expense than the initial costs for installing a rail system the anti-rail folks like to harp on..

White suburban Houstonians, the onus is on you if you want much needed rail in your Outside the Loop and exurban locales.  You have to help us Inside the Loopers fight for it, too. You need to tell your GOP legislators to back up off of METRO and let the federal money flow toward building an extensive rail network across this area.   And if they aren't willing to do that, then you replace them with legislators who will fight for rail in this area as part of a smart and comprehensive transit plan for our Houston metro area..      

METRORail Test Train Phase Beginning On East End Line

METRO just opened the North Line extension to daily revenue service last weekend, and now comes word that the testing phase on the East End/Green Line from the EaDo/Stadium station serving BBVA Compass Stadium to the Altic/Howard Hughes station will begin in early January.

As was done on the North Line earlier this year, the initial phase will be with an unpowered rail car being pushed or towed along the tracks at no faster than five miles per hour and escorted by METRO police.

Just as was the case when the unpowered train testing was done on the North Line, the tests are to ensure there are no bends or bumps in the Green Line tracks.   The workers will be checking train clearance, ensuring signals are working properly and if that isn't the case, the train is stopped and the location of the problem logged so that it can expeditiously be corrected.

Once those unpowered tests are done, then it will move to electrical wiring tests and running powered test trains on the tracks to get METRORail train operators familiar with this new section of rail before it opens for service to the East End as they complete the 9 stations and the decorative touches around them.

At the moment the Green Line opens for revenue service, METRORail will truly become a light rail system and not just one 12.8 mile long line from the south side Fannin South Station to the Northline TC/HCC one via the Med Center and downtown.

And yeah, it goes without saying,  I can't wait for the Purple Line near me to open as well.

TransGriot Update: The start of the testing phase on the East End/Green Line got delayed until January 24

Moni Does The METRORail North Line Opening

I wasn't here in town when the METRORail starter Red Line rail line opened back in 2004, so I was determined to be part of the action that took place for the grand opening of the 5.3 mile North Line.

In addition to the free concert that was happening at Moody Park along with the snow area for the kids, rides were free all day on METRORail.  So my game plan was to catch the bus to the Downtown Transit Center station, then board the train from there. 

But one complication for this big civic party was our Saturday weather.  We had a fast moving front coming through the area that was due to hit town right around the time that much of the grand opening festivities were planned to happen.  It was also projected to because it was moving at 50 mph create high winds, possible severe weather and drop a lot of heavy rain.

So I did spend a few hours watching the Doppler radar sweeps online,  Once the heavy rain passed through the area and didn't produce the predicted high winds, I bounced from the house on my missions to travel the new section of the North Line and also ride it from end to end

I got downtown about noon and started my rail riding mission from the Downtown Transit Center stop which is in front of METRO headquarters on the Red Line.  When we arrived at the UH Downtown stop that used to be the terminus for it, noted that they had people gathering in the covered plaza area.  There was a podium, camera and a microphone set up there for what I later discovered was the ribbon cutting ceremony along with METRO.employees, city and county officials and guests with passes getting off the train and heading to that event. 

Then as the train pulled out of the UH Downtown station we were on the new 5.3 mile section of the North Line that dives under I-10, then enters an elevated platform to take it over railroad tracks toward the elevated Burnet Transit Center /Casa de Amigos Station.   There are plans to build an intermodal train and bus station at that location that on hold for now, but what I did notice was there was another wrapped train there parked on one of the side tracks on that platform.   

I eventually passed by Moody Park, where the free concert featuring Selena's brother (yeah, that Selena) AB Quintanilla and his band were the headline performers was cranking up and the crowd was gathering for all the fun and festivities there.  .   

I started to get off and walk around it for a few moments but I decided to stay on the train because I was having  nice chat at the time with a retired METRO employee who worked in the training department and the last few years he worked for METRO was as part of its rail operations.

We eventually ended up at its new terminus of the Northline TC/HCC Station.   Going to be interesting to see in the near future where and how they take this line up to IAH and I pondered that as I waited for the train operator to switch ends of the train and reverse direction for the trip from the north side of town to past Reliant Stadium and the southern terminus of the line at the Fannin South station.  

At this point a Latino family joined me who was doing the same thing I was.   We had interesting conversations during that 35 minute ride from there to Fannin South.  They noted along with their kids the line passed through downtown, the Museum District, Hermann Park/Houston Zoo, the Texas Medical Center and past Reliant Stadium and how much driving time, parking hassles and gas money it would save them to just take the train to those places. 

As we made it to Fannin South that trailing rainband I'd noted earlier in the morning finally made it to where I was located and a sudden blinding rainstorm dropped visibility to the point I couldn't even see Reliant Stadium.  By the time I started moving back north up the Red Line and hit the TMC Transit Center station it had cleared out as fast as it had moved in and ensured that when I got off the train I wouldn't need my umbrella.
 
I said goodbye to my traveling companions when I arrived at my Downtown Transit Center stop.  The new year for us in Houston will see even more expansion of our light rail from just one long 12.8 mile long line to a true system with multiple lines (the Green and Purple) in just a few months.  

And one of them, the Purple Line terminates just five blocks from my house.   Can't wait until it opens.

 

Smile, You're On METRORail Crimefighting Camera!

The METRORail Red Line extension to the Northline Mall Transit Center from UH Downtown was completed ahead of schedule.  It has undergone its unpowered and powered train clearance tests and is awaiting the start of revenue service in early December  

It'll be the second quarter of next year before METRO completes the construction of the Purple Line near me and get the testing out of the way before I can start riding the METRORail train from the house to wherever I need to go. 

One of the other things installed along with the landscaping and artwork at all the METRORail Red Line rail station platforms were the security cameras.  

18 year old Salvador Sanchez decided he'd head to the Northline Transit Center/HCC station platform at the end of the extended line and add his own creative spray canned spin to the artwork already installed and on display there. 

He probably presumed the installed security cameras weren't operational, but unfortunately for him the security cameras were powered up and got a nice clear screen shot of him doing his tagging business on the station.  The METRO Police armed with that photo arrested young Mr. Sanchez on charges connected to tagging the Northline TC/HCC station platform.

So smile, you're on METRORail Crimefighting Camera.  

And METRO, any chance that once you're done installing those cameras on the Green and Purple light rail lines you can start installing them at the bus transit centers and Park and Ride lots, too?

METRORail Passes 100 Million Boardings Mark

I went downtown Tuesday to run some errands that required me to ride the METRORail to do so.  I was pleased to find out that my rail trip was free.

I missed the April 9 ceremony they had at METRO headquarters right next to the Red Line where it crosses under the Pierce Elevated (I-45) to celebrate achieving the 100 million METRORail boardings milestone 4 years ahead of schedule.

All trips on the METRORail were gratis for the entire day until midnight in celebration of achieving the milestone.

METRORail only has at the moment (no thanks to Tom DeLay and the Republicans obstructing the federal funding) the starter 7.5 mile long Red Line that opened for service in January 2004 just before the Super Bowl.   It runs from UH Downtown (where I'll be part of a panel discussion on the 17th) to the Fannin South Transit Center just past Reliant Park (the Dome, Reliant Arena and Reliant Stadium complex).  That line also passes Rice University, Hermann Park, the Texas Medical Center and through the Museum District as well.

METRORail accomplished the feat with 18 Siemens S70 rail cars (and no backup cars) that have traveled more than four million miles in their nine years of operation.  METRORail is now starting to take delivery through 2013 and work into service 19 additional Siemens S70 H2 rail cars in preparation for the opening of two new lines and the 5.3 mile Red Line extension to the Northline Transit Center.  

The two new lines under construction in addition to the Red Line extension are the 3.3 mile Green Line that starts in the Theater District and terminates at the Magnolia Park Station in the East End.  

The 6.1 mile long Purple Line terminates a mere six blocks from my house and passes the University of Houston, Minute Maid Park, Discovery Green, and joins with the Green Line at BBVA Compass Stadium to terminate on the west side of downtown in the Theater District.  

Been keeping close tabs on the construction of these new METRORail lines that supposed to be operational in 2014.  There are two additional lines, the Blue and Gold in the planning stages.  The Blue Line will be a much needed east-west one that will run from the Hillcroft Transit Center to the Eastwood Transit Center just past the University of Houston.  The Gold Line will run north-south from Bellaire through the Galleria area to the Northwest Transit Center 

We'll see if that promised 2014 start date happens, but the 100 million boardings in just 9 years of operation is a sign that Houstonians have no problem riding the rails if the trains quickly and safely take you where you need to go.

METRO Monthly Board Meeting To Finalize Rail Station Names

I've been keeping track of the developments on the METRORail light rail lines that are currently either under construction or are being studied for development like the University (Blue) and Uptown (Gold) Lines.

I noted that rail is being laid on the Southeast Line that will terminate a few blocks from my undisclosed location in beautiful southeast Houston with that Purple Line eventually slated in the future to be extended to and terminate at Hobby Airport. 

I also posted links to a survey in which people could vote on or suggest names for the stations on the three new light rail lines currently under construction and due to be completed in 2013. 

Also on the agenda is the purchase of 39 rail cars for METRORail among other items.

At the METRO monthly board meeting that is being conducted as you read this post, one of the items on the board agenda for today is finalizing the station names for the North (Red), Southeast (Purple), and East End (Green) lines.   

A METRO Committee sorted through all the suggestions and came up with this final list of names for the stations on the three lines that will be subject to board approval.

North Line: Burnett TC/Casa de Amigos, Quitman/Near Northside, Boundary, Moody Park, Cavalcade,  Lindale Park, Melbourne/North Lindale, Northline TC/HCC

Southeast Line:  EaDo/Dynamo, Discovery Green, Central Station Main, Central Station Capitol, Central Station Rusk, Theater District, Leeland, Elgin, Robertson Stadium/UH/TSU, UH South/University Oaks, MacGregor Park/MLK, Palm Center

East End Line: York/Coffee Plant, Lockwood, Altic/Howard Hughes, Cesar Chavez/67th Street, Magnolia Park TC

There's also an interesting one in which METRO would enter into an agreement with the Menil Foundation in exchange for right-of way needed for the University line, the Menil Foundation would design a rail station for it that would be incorporated and integrated into the design for their redeveloped campus.

The station would also be per the agreement with the Foundation be named the 'Menil Station'

Hmm, will be interesting to see how this plays out.

METRORail Station Survey

It may be in the triple digits temperature wise, but that doesn't slow down construction here in H-town.  They just make sure the workers get plenty of cold water, rest and keep going until they get the project done. 

I'm a big fan and supporter of the expansion of light rail in my hometown.   I've been keeping tabs on the progress of METRORail construction on the Southeast, North and East End lines, especially since one of the new lines will terminate not far from where I live now.

It's moving along to the point that the construction crews began laying rail on some of the lines earlier this month that are scheduled to be completed in 2014..     

METRO asked for public input on names for the future  stations on the various rail lines.   The deadline passed in May for that phase of the process, but they are now conducting a survey until August 31 to get further citizen input on some of the contenders for station names on the various routes.

The METRO board will choose the permanent names of the rail stations at their September 2011 meeting.

I've had my say about the Southeast Line and will chime in later on the other two, so I thought I'd make it easy for you Houstonians or homesick ex-pats to chime in and have your say about what names should grace those station platforms.

But to be honest, I'm beyond ready for those station platforms to not only be constructed after they finish laying the track, but for those light rail trains to start running along those tracks when they're done.

Finally Laying Rail On The METRORail Southeast Line

Been keeping close tabs on the construction of the new METRORail Southeast Line since it will terminate less than a few blocks from where I currently live.  I've also expressed my feelings concerning how happy I am to see a rail component in our transit system come to life in my hometown. 

When METRO was created in the late 70's a heavy rail subway system was part of the plans and on the drawing boards.    It has been a contentious political issue fought over ever since then and while I preferred the original heavy rail plan, I'm just happy my hometown has any rail component in its transit plans.  

While I was recently out and about I noticed the 80 foot sections of rail near the intersection of Martin Luther King Blvd and Old Spanish Trail stacked in a staging area across the street from MacGregor Park.  The same thing has been occurring at other spots along the Southeast Line corridor and I wondered if the construction had finally progressed to the point in the line building process to where they were ready to start laying some track.

Got the answer to the question I was pondering on July 5 when a press conference was held to announce that workers were beginning the process of welding those 80 foot sections of rail to create 480 foot strips.   Those strips would then be laid into a reinforced concrete roadbed that would eventually stretch across the entire length of the Southeast Line.   The press conference was also marking the moment that rail was actually being laid for one of the additional lines approved by voters in 2003.  

METRO recently received another $150 million from the feds to facilitate construction of the North and Southeast Lines, and this news combined with the announcement they are at track laying stage is welcomed.

It's about time the Southeast Line is now getting to the point that the residents and businesses along the line are starting to see the construction peeps lay track for a change instead of it looking like a straight road building and widening project.

Now if they can complete it before 2014, that would really make me and every business on the Southeast Line happy.