METRO approves rail corridors
Metro’s board Thursday formally approved three Houston corridors for light rail extensions, the first of many steps in the years-long process of obtaining federal funds for the rail expansion.
3 rail expansion corridors approved by Metro board
By LUCAS WALL Houston Chronicle Nov. 20, 2003
Voters on Nov. 4 approved the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s proposal to build 73 miles of rail by 2025 and authorized a $640 million bond issue to accelerate construction of the next four light rail lines. Those lines, totaling 22 miles, are estimated to cost $1 billion and be in operation by 2012. Metro wants the Federal Transit Administration to pay half the cost of those lines.
Thursday’s board decision designates light rail lines from the University of Houston-Downtown to Northline Mall and from downtown to the southeast side as the first projects Metro wants to build with federal funds. The board also approved seeking funds for a light rail line through the Galleria area, though that line will not be built until the next decade. The three votes, all unanimous, wrap up a two-year process called “alternative analysis,” in which transit planners map possible improvements and seek community input.
If all funding falls into place, Metro will start construction on the UH-to-Northline tracks in late 2006.
Metro’s directors Thursday also approved offering a special light rail ticket for $25 per year that could be used between stations on the Main Street line downtown. A standard one-way train trip will cost $1 when the line opens Jan. 1.