METRORail Red Line
| Red Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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:
Expansion
A possibility for expansion of the line would take the route to George Bush Intercontinental Airport.[10]
References
- 1 2 "Metro says North rail line to open early - Houston Chronicle". chron.com. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- 1 2 "Houston Facts 2014" (PDF). Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas. 2014. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
- ↑ http://www.piersystem.com/posted/1068/Chapter_2_DEIS_North_Corridor_0606.123777.pdf
- ↑ "METRO About Us". Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
- ↑ KUHF Houston Public Radio. "Houston Gets Its Next Portion Of Light Rail Funding". Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ↑ "METRORail". Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Houston Metro Rail. "8 Stations from UH–Downtown to Northline Transit Center". Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ↑ http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/100909-rail-lines-will-not-meet-oct-2013-deadline
- 1 2 "$900m awarded to extend Houston’s light rail system". Rail.co. December 8, 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ↑ "Metro Light Rail (Houston, Sugar Land, Galveston: 2015, university, tax) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum". city-data.com. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
External links
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