We are listing lot of times Metro Rail, why are giving our Government impotnace of Metro Rails, what is the importance of Metro Rails
METRORail is the 12.8-mile (20.6 km)[2] light rail line in Houston, Texas (USA). With an average weekday ridership of 36,250,[3] METRORail ranks as the fourteenth most-traveled light rail system in the United States, with the second highest ridership per track mile. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris CountMETRORail is the 12.8-mile (20.6 km)[2] light rail line in Houston, Texas (USA). With an average weekday ridership of 36,250,[3] METRORail ranks as the fourteenth most-traveled light rail system in the United States, with the second highest ridership per track mile. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris Count
This line was built after an approximately 20-year battle,[4] starting in 1983 when voters rejected a rail plan by referendum.[5] Voter referendum in 1988 approved a 20 mile light rail plan;[6] however, Bob Lanier was elected mayor in 1992 and stopped the plan.[5] In 1991, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, removed $65 million in federal funding for the rail line.[5] Then, Houston drew up a rail plan with entirely local funding. In 2001, several groups sued to stop construction, claiming that the METRO organization was a "private business" and subject to Houston City Charter provisions regulating business use of its streets;[7] they obtained 2 temporary injunctions in January 2001, which were reversed by appeals court on March 9, 2001.[7]
Ground was broken on this line on March 13, 2001.[8] The opening of METRORail on January 1, 2004, came 64 years after the previous streetcar system had been shut down.[9] The cost was $325 million [10] Houston was the largest city in the United States without a rail system after the 1990 opening of the Blue Line in Los Angeles.
Tom DeLay strongly opposed construction of the METRORAIL line and twice blocked federal funding for the system in the United States House of Representatives.[11] Thus the Metrorail was built without any federal funding until November 2011 when a $900 million grant was approved for expansions.[12]
In spite of the opposition of some groups to the Metrorail, surveys conducted by Stephen Klineberg and Rice University have shown consistent increases in support of rail transport and decreases in support for bigger and better roads/highways in the Houston metropolitan area in recent years.[13][14][15] Klineberg considers these changes a "paradigm shift" or "sea change" on attitudes towards mass transit.
n the first year of METRORail, ridership, though increasing from 12,102 in January to 32,941 in October, tapered off slightly in the last two months of the year, and "fell short of the 35,000 goal transit officials had set" in early 2004, according to the Houston Chronicle.[17] The line reached 75 million boardings in December 2011, four years ahead of schedule,[18] but throughout that year, ridership numbers remained flat or showed small decreases.[19] By 2012, average weekday ridership was 36,250.[3]
Notable records in ridership have occurred on the following dates:[20]
February 1, 2004: 64,005 passengers rode the METRORail to Super Bowl XXXVIII
February 23, 2004: 54,193 passenger boardings were recorded, the highest weekday at the time
February 27, 2007: 56,388 passengers were recorded the day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
March 15, 2012: 70,611 passengers were recorded; many of whom attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and a performance by The Band Perry after the rodeo at the Reliant Park sports complex.
The route is a 12.8-mile (20.6 km)[2] double-tracked, 4 ft 8 1/2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge line with 24 stations[1] approximately a 1/2-mile (0.8 km) apart, running from UH–Downtown to the Northline Transit Center Station/HCC Railway Technology. The entire route is at grade and on city streets. Power supply is from 600/750 Volt DC overhead wires with nine substations.[22] The line follows Main Street for 8 stations from UH–Downtown to Wheeler Station, then follows Fannin Street for the remainder of the route until Fannin South. However, northbound trains run on San Jacinto Street (rather than Fannin) for a small section of the route between the Wheeler and Museum District stations. The tracks are usually in the center of the street; however, the southbound tracks between the Wheeler and Museum District stations "hug the left curb" according to one source.[23]
Significant businesses and institutions along this route include the University of Houston–Downtown, Houston's restaurant district near Preston Station, the Downtown Transit Center, Houston's museum district, Rice University, Memorial Hermann Hospital, the Texas Medical Center, and Reliant Astrodome.
A Park and Ride parking lot is available at one station: Fannin South.[24][25] It has approximately 1,200 parking spaces.[22] Parking fees included a daily rate of $3 and a monthly hangtag contract of $40.
Architectural firm Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville of Houston, Texas, was in charge of the final architectural/engineering design and design support, with a $2.3 million contract.[22] However, all stations south of Burnett Transit Center were designed by the Houston office of St. Louis-based architectural firm Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.[26] All the stations are of similar design—250-feet long and partially covered by glass roofs. Station length was constrained by the distance between crosswalks in downtown city blocks; station platforms are low-floor and 350mm high.[22]
The right-of-way and the stations were built by three contractors for approximately $115 million: Texas Sterling Construction Co. of Houston, Bencon Management of Houston, and Beers Construction Co. of Atlanta.[7] The line construction was divided into five sections, with a resident engineer for each section, to speed up construction.[22]
The route can handle three minute headways during peak hours[27] and has a design capacity of 8,000 people/hour in each direction while using two car trains with such a headway.[28]
The line has a yard and a maintenance facility connected by loop track to the south of the Fannin South station.
The standard fare for this rail line is $1.25 for both cash and MetroQ Fare Card riders; $3 for a Day Pass. The discount fare of $0.60 available for MetroQ Fare Card riders who are seniors 65-69, disabled, Medicare cardholders, or full-time students (elementary, high school, and university); $1.50 for a Day Pass. All discount riders must show ID (except for elementary and high school students).[39] Free transfers to METRO buses are available with the MetroQ Fare Card only, for 3 hours in the same direction only. The MetroQ Fare Card holders can earn "Rider Rewards" of 5 free trips for every 50 paid trips.[39] Tickets and cards are purchased from machines at the stations. No charge applies to Houston Texans home game days, nor to seniors over 70.
Tickets and cards are checked by inspectors randomly aboard trains. Failure to pay the fare is a Class C Misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of up to $500. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on the train platform and subject to the same fine as a Class C Misdemeanor.
METRORail is the 12.8-mile (20.6 km)[2] light rail line in Houston, Texas (USA). With an average weekday ridership of 36,250,[3] METRORail ranks as the fourteenth most-traveled light rail system in the United States, with the second highest ridership per track mile. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris CountMETRORail is the 12.8-mile (20.6 km)[2] light rail line in Houston, Texas (USA). With an average weekday ridership of 36,250,[3] METRORail ranks as the fourteenth most-traveled light rail system in the United States, with the second highest ridership per track mile. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris Count
This line was built after an approximately 20-year battle,[4] starting in 1983 when voters rejected a rail plan by referendum.[5] Voter referendum in 1988 approved a 20 mile light rail plan;[6] however, Bob Lanier was elected mayor in 1992 and stopped the plan.[5] In 1991, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, removed $65 million in federal funding for the rail line.[5] Then, Houston drew up a rail plan with entirely local funding. In 2001, several groups sued to stop construction, claiming that the METRO organization was a "private business" and subject to Houston City Charter provisions regulating business use of its streets;[7] they obtained 2 temporary injunctions in January 2001, which were reversed by appeals court on March 9, 2001.[7]
Ground was broken on this line on March 13, 2001.[8] The opening of METRORail on January 1, 2004, came 64 years after the previous streetcar system had been shut down.[9] The cost was $325 million [10] Houston was the largest city in the United States without a rail system after the 1990 opening of the Blue Line in Los Angeles.
Tom DeLay strongly opposed construction of the METRORAIL line and twice blocked federal funding for the system in the United States House of Representatives.[11] Thus the Metrorail was built without any federal funding until November 2011 when a $900 million grant was approved for expansions.[12]
In spite of the opposition of some groups to the Metrorail, surveys conducted by Stephen Klineberg and Rice University have shown consistent increases in support of rail transport and decreases in support for bigger and better roads/highways in the Houston metropolitan area in recent years.[13][14][15] Klineberg considers these changes a "paradigm shift" or "sea change" on attitudes towards mass transit.
n the first year of METRORail, ridership, though increasing from 12,102 in January to 32,941 in October, tapered off slightly in the last two months of the year, and "fell short of the 35,000 goal transit officials had set" in early 2004, according to the Houston Chronicle.[17] The line reached 75 million boardings in December 2011, four years ahead of schedule,[18] but throughout that year, ridership numbers remained flat or showed small decreases.[19] By 2012, average weekday ridership was 36,250.[3]
Notable records in ridership have occurred on the following dates:[20]
February 1, 2004: 64,005 passengers rode the METRORail to Super Bowl XXXVIII
February 23, 2004: 54,193 passenger boardings were recorded, the highest weekday at the time
February 27, 2007: 56,388 passengers were recorded the day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
March 15, 2012: 70,611 passengers were recorded; many of whom attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and a performance by The Band Perry after the rodeo at the Reliant Park sports complex.
The route is a 12.8-mile (20.6 km)[2] double-tracked, 4 ft 8 1/2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge line with 24 stations[1] approximately a 1/2-mile (0.8 km) apart, running from UH–Downtown to the Northline Transit Center Station/HCC Railway Technology. The entire route is at grade and on city streets. Power supply is from 600/750 Volt DC overhead wires with nine substations.[22] The line follows Main Street for 8 stations from UH–Downtown to Wheeler Station, then follows Fannin Street for the remainder of the route until Fannin South. However, northbound trains run on San Jacinto Street (rather than Fannin) for a small section of the route between the Wheeler and Museum District stations. The tracks are usually in the center of the street; however, the southbound tracks between the Wheeler and Museum District stations "hug the left curb" according to one source.[23]
Significant businesses and institutions along this route include the University of Houston–Downtown, Houston's restaurant district near Preston Station, the Downtown Transit Center, Houston's museum district, Rice University, Memorial Hermann Hospital, the Texas Medical Center, and Reliant Astrodome.
A Park and Ride parking lot is available at one station: Fannin South.[24][25] It has approximately 1,200 parking spaces.[22] Parking fees included a daily rate of $3 and a monthly hangtag contract of $40.
Architectural firm Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville of Houston, Texas, was in charge of the final architectural/engineering design and design support, with a $2.3 million contract.[22] However, all stations south of Burnett Transit Center were designed by the Houston office of St. Louis-based architectural firm Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.[26] All the stations are of similar design—250-feet long and partially covered by glass roofs. Station length was constrained by the distance between crosswalks in downtown city blocks; station platforms are low-floor and 350mm high.[22]
The right-of-way and the stations were built by three contractors for approximately $115 million: Texas Sterling Construction Co. of Houston, Bencon Management of Houston, and Beers Construction Co. of Atlanta.[7] The line construction was divided into five sections, with a resident engineer for each section, to speed up construction.[22]
The route can handle three minute headways during peak hours[27] and has a design capacity of 8,000 people/hour in each direction while using two car trains with such a headway.[28]
The line has a yard and a maintenance facility connected by loop track to the south of the Fannin South station.
The standard fare for this rail line is $1.25 for both cash and MetroQ Fare Card riders; $3 for a Day Pass. The discount fare of $0.60 available for MetroQ Fare Card riders who are seniors 65-69, disabled, Medicare cardholders, or full-time students (elementary, high school, and university); $1.50 for a Day Pass. All discount riders must show ID (except for elementary and high school students).[39] Free transfers to METRO buses are available with the MetroQ Fare Card only, for 3 hours in the same direction only. The MetroQ Fare Card holders can earn "Rider Rewards" of 5 free trips for every 50 paid trips.[39] Tickets and cards are purchased from machines at the stations. No charge applies to Houston Texans home game days, nor to seniors over 70.
Tickets and cards are checked by inspectors randomly aboard trains. Failure to pay the fare is a Class C Misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of up to $500. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on the train platform and subject to the same fine as a Class C Misdemeanor.
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