Capital MetroRail

Capital MetroRail

Capital MetroRail train at Lakeline station.
Overview
Owner	Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Locale	Austin, Texas, U.S.
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	9
Daily ridership	2,900 (weekday, Q1 2014)
Annual ridership	817,300 (2013)
Website	MetroRail
Operation
Began operation	March 22, 2010
Operator(s)	Herzog Transit Services
Number of vehicles	6 Diesel-electric Stadler GTWs
Technical
System length	32 mi (51 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Route diagram Legend Leander 0:00 183A Toll Road Lakeline 0:15 SH 45 Toll Howard 0:28 Loop 1 Kramer 0:35 US 183 Crestview 0:42 Highland 0:45 I-35 MLK, Jr. 0:52 Plaza Saltillo 0:58 I-35 Downtown 1:02 Gateway

Capital MetroRail is a commuter rail system that serves the Greater Austin area in Texas, and which is owned by the Capital Metro. The Red Line, Capital Metro's first and only rail line, connects Downtown Austin with Austin's northern suburbs. The line operates on 32 miles (51 kilometers) of existing freight tracks, and serves nine stations.

After a series of delays, Capital MetroRail was inaugurated in March 2010. Daily ridership during the first nine months was approximately 800 riders per weekday, although it had doubled to 1,600 by its first anniversary. Capital Metro added additional runs during midday beginning in mid-January 2011. Capital Metro added Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening regularly scheduled service on March 23, 2012.

MetroRail currently has an average weekday ridership of approximately 2,500 passengers per day and is the twentieth most-ridden commuter rail system in the country out of twenty-five operational commuter rail systems.

History

Advocates of modern urban rail began calling on the city of Austin to develop a passenger rail system at the height of the 1970s energy crisis. When voters approved Capital Metro's creation in 1985, the agency was seen not only as the new operator of local bus services, but the developer of a future passenger rail as well. The next year, Capital Metro partnered with the City of Austin to purchase the 162-mile Giddings-to-Llano Austin and Northwestern Railroad on which the Red Line currently operates from the Southern Pacific Transportation Company with the express purpose of someday operating passenger rail on it. The purchase price was $9.3 million, of which $6 million came from a grant from the Federal Transit Administration, $0.6 million came from the City of Austin and $2.7 million came from Capital Metro. On May 20, 1998, Capital Metro acquired the City of Austin's share in the railroad for $1 million.

During the 1990s, Capital Metro faced persistent bad publicity that resulted from dysfunctional management and poor accountability. After years of inaction on passenger rail, the Texas Legislature in 1997 stepped in and ordered the public transport provider to hold an up-or-down referendum on light rail. In response, Capital Metro drew up an ambitious plan for a $1.9 billion, 52-mile system that included a north-south Red Line and an east-west Green Line.

The 2000 proposal was narrowly defeated by 2,000 votes, with most of central Austin voting in favor and suburban and exurban areas within the service area voting against the referendum. Capital Metro came back in 2004 with a significantly scaled-down version of its 2000 plan that it hoped voters in Travis County and Williamson County would find more palatable. The 2004 version was approved by 62% of voters in the service area. MetroRail was presented to voters as part of the All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan, which also included expanded local and express bus service. The Red Line, originally known as the Downtown/Northwest Urban Commuter Rail Service line, approved by voters was seen as a starter line that would become part of a potential comprehensive passenger rail system in the Greater Austin area. The corridor was chosen for the first line after Capital Metro's Board identified the following areas as probable areas for future growth: the Highland Mall area, the master-planned Mueller Community redevelopment project, as well as the central business district, extending from the University of Texas at Austin to Lady Bird Lake.

The organization at the time said they could have the system built by 2008 for a cost of $60 million, and borrow $30 million for six train cars to be paid back over a period of years. About $30 million of that cost, they said, would come from the federal government. However, Capital Metro never officially sought the federal money and revealed in 2010 it has spent $105 million on the system's construction, not $90 million as originally suggested. Additionally, the original 2008 launch date for Capital MetroRail was postponed two years due to multiple safety and construction issues.

Service on Capital MetroRail finally began on March 22, 2010, because of safety issues and construction delays. On December 9, 2009, Capital Metro terminated its contract with Veolia Transportation and renegotiated a contract with Herzog Transit Services.

On June 26, 2014, TxDOT awarded CapMetro with a $50 million grant for the purchase of four new rail cars, which is anticipated to double capacity, and for general improvements to the Downtown MetroRail station

Operation

The Capital Metrorail system currently consists of Red Line, 32 miles of track that connects Leander and the Austin Convention Center in Downtown Austin. The line also passes through Cedar Park, northwest Austin, north-central Austin, and east Austin. The annual cost to operate the RedLine is $14.3 million.

Although it provides a commuter rail service, MetroRail uses tram-train operation, with semi-frequent services and street running in the downtown portions of the city. On January 18, 2011, Capital Metro added 13 additional midday trains to the previously limited schedule, as well as increased runs during peak hours. Additionally, the organization will run trains on a regular schedule Friday and Saturday starting March 23, 2012. In addition to the normal Friday schedule, trains will run hourly from 7:00pm to 12:00am and every 35 minutes from 4:00pm to 12:00am on Saturday. Prior to the regularly scheduled Friday and Saturday service Capital Metro ran weekend service for special events, such as the SXSW festival.

The Red Line

The Red Line's northern terminus is the Leander Station and Park & Ride and the southern terminus is the Downtown (Convention Center) Station. Each station features an accessible platform with varying canopy designs, ticket vending machines (TVM), bike racks, and informational displays. Its nine stations were constructed largely along existing freight rail tracks in cooperation with the City of Austin following a transit-oriented development (TOD) plan intended to encourage use of public transportation by developing mixed-use residential and commercial areas around the stations. The following Red Line stations are listed north to south:

• Leander Station and Park & Ride
• Lakeline Station and Park & Ride
• Howard Station and Park & Ride
• Burnet/Kramer Station
• Crestview Station
• Highland Station
• MLK, Jr. Station
• Plaza Saltillo Station
• Downtown/Convention Center Station

Rolling stock

In September 2005, Stadler Rail won a bid to build six Stadler GTW diesel-electric light regional railcars for the system. Each of the vehicle's capital costs is about $6 million, and they run on 2 x 375 kW (510 Hp) = 750 kW (1020 Hp) diesel-electric engines. They are 9 feet, 8 inches (2.95 m) wide and 134 feet (41 m) long.

Capital MetroRail Red Line approaching Lakeline Station.

The vehicles have a capacity of 200 passengers, 108 seated and 92 standing. The trains have priority seating areas (fully ADA compliant) for wheelchairs. A "VIP section" with room for laptop use with WiFi access is also included. Bike racks, luggage racks, high back racks, and low floor entry for easy access are all features of what Capital Metro calls the safest and most technologically advanced trains in North America. WiFi is provided by cellular based 3G service. Capital Metro is currently researching upgrading access to 4G speeds, but is dependent on the cell carrier offering a commercial grade product that will work in Capital Metro's devices. For safety, the vehicles have ten cameras outside and six inside, as well as a sophisticated communications system.

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  Inside MetroRail Train

• Metroraildoor.jpg

  Door of MetroRail Train

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  Bicycle Rack on MetroRail Train

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  Seats on MetroRail Train

Future expansions

Austin Metrorail train at Downtown Station.

Any potential expansion would require another referendum in the Capital Metro service area to secure funding. Capital Metro's All Systems Go Plan includes a study into potential future service. Below are a few expansions which are either in the planning process or otherwise being actively considered.

Capital Metro Green Line

In September 2008, Capital Metro evaluated the need for rail service to alleviate pressure from congestion downtown to as far east as the town of Elgin. To fix this problem, CapMetro decided to plan for adding another rail line to their service, or the Green Line. The Green Line would operate the same as the Red Line, as it would run on existing freight rails with adjustments made to them to allow for passenger rail service.

Trains would depart the red line and begin to head east in between the red line stations MLK Jr. and Plaza Saltillo, where the first stop would be a shared station with the potential Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Commuter Rail Connector. The route would then continue on to four more stations, the last of which would be in Elgin. This is where the line would end. In December 2008, a presentation, and then a follow-up, were given to the CAMPO Transit Work Group about the Green Line.

Gateway Station

As of 2015, CapMetro has taken the first steps in the planning of a permanent downtown Gateway station for its MetroRail system. Although the current estimates for cost of the proposed terminal are $30–35 million, $22 million of this sum will come directly from a Texas Department of Transportation grant awarded to CapMetro in 2014. Proponents of the proposed station assert that this new station will not only alleviate the congestion problems associated with the current downtown MetroRail terminal, but also serve as a cultural hub wherein future residents and visitors can easily access a number of current and potential amenities, including but not limited to additional transit systems, shopping, and recreational activities.

See also

• Tram-train
• Commuter rail in North America
• List of United States commuter rail systems by ridership
• List of rail transit systems in the United States
• Stadler GTW

External links

• Capital Metro: All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan