METRORail Red Line

Red Line
Overview
Type Light rail
System METRORail
Locale Houston, Texas
Termini Northline Transit Center Station (north)
Fannin South (south)
Stations 24
Operation
Opened January 1, 2004
Expanded on December 21, 2013[1]
Operator(s) METRO
Technical
Line length 12.8 mi (20.6 km)[2]
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification overhead cantenary
Highest elevation At grade before Hogan St. and at UH–Downtown, and again before Salem and after Bennington;[3] elevated rail between both pairs of landmarks
Route map

The Red Line is a 12.8-mile (20.6 km)[2] METRORail light rail route operated by METRO in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest line in the METRORail system, and opened on January 1, 2004. A 5.3-mile (8.5 km) northern extension[4] to the first 7.5-mile (12.1 km) section of the line, originally scheduled to open in 2014,[5] opened ahead of schedule on December 21, 2013.

Route

The approximately 13-mile (21 km)[6] Red Line runs through the heart of the historic North Side, a storied neighborhood rooted in rail that came into being with the expansion, in the 1880s, of the Hardy Rail Line. Starting at the Fannin South station, through the Texas Medical Center, Museum District, Midtown, and through Downtown onto the UH–Downtown station. The line continues north on North Main to Boundary Street, crosses east to Fulton Street, and proceeds north on Fulton to the Northline Transit Center and Houston Community College, Northline Mall Center.[7] The length of line south of Hogan Street is located on an elevated structure. Currently older metro rails from the old Fannin South to UH–Downtown line cannot reach the Red Line Extended portion of the line, and will always stop at Burnett.

Construction

Construction began July 2009, and was expected to continue until the line's opening in 2014,[8] though the opening date was later pushed back to 2015.[9] Because of better than expected construction progress, the line opened on December 21, 2013.[1]

On December 8, 2011, the FTA announced the award of a $450 million grant from the New Starts transit program to fund construction of the Red Line.[9]

Stations

The following is a list of stations for this line, listed in order from north to south.

METRORail line key

     Green Line
     Purple Line

Station Opening
year		 Connections
METRORail METRO Bus
Northline/HCC 2013 23, 29, 36, 45, 56, 79, 96
Melbourne/North Lindale 2013
Lindale Park 2013
Cavalcade 2013 26
Moody Park 2013
Fulton/North Central 2013 79
Quitman/Near Northside 2013 66
Burnett Transit Center/Casa De Amigos 2013 3, 51/52, 79
UH–Downtown 2004
Preston 2004 various routes nearby
Central Station (Main) 2015           various routes nearby
Main Street Square 2004 various routes, Greenlink
Bell 2004 various routes nearby
Downtown Transit Center 2004 6, 11, 32, 44, 51/52, 54, 82, 85, 102, 108, 137, 160/161/162, Park & Ride lines
McGowen 2004 54, 82, 283
Ensemble/HCC 2004 9, 261, 283
Wheeler Transit Center 2004 5, 25, 65, 152/153
Museum District 2004 5, 56, 65, 292, 298
Hermann Park/Rice University 2004 56, 292, 298
Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston Zoo 2004 28, 56, 292, 298
Dryden/TMC 2004 56, 84
Texas Medical Center Transit Center 2004 2, 4, 10, 14, 27, 28, 41, 56, 60, 68, 84, 87, 402 (Quickline), Park & Ride lines
Smith Lands 2004 84
NRG Park 2004 60
Fannin South 2004 8, 11, 73, 87

Expansion

A possibility for expansion of the line would take the route to George Bush Intercontinental Airport.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Metro says North rail line to open early - Houston Chronicle". chron.com. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Houston Facts 2014" (PDF). Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas. 2014. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  3. ↑ http://www.piersystem.com/posted/1068/Chapter_2_DEIS_North_Corridor_0606.123777.pdf
  4. ↑ "METRO About Us". Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  5. ↑ KUHF Houston Public Radio. "Houston Gets Its Next Portion Of Light Rail Funding". Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "METRORail". Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  7. ↑ Houston Metro Rail. "8 Stations from UH–Downtown to Northline Transit Center". Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  8. ↑ http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/100909-rail-lines-will-not-meet-oct-2013-deadline
  9. 1 2 "$900m awarded to extend Houston's light rail system". Rail.co. December 8, 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  10. ↑ "Metro Light Rail (Houston, Sugar Land, Galveston: 2015, university, tax) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum". city-data.com. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
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