MetroRail Capital is a commuter train system serving the Austin area of ââTexas, and owned by Metro Capital. The Red Line, the first rail line and the only Metro Metro, connects Downtown Austin to Austin's northern suburbs. The line operates on 32 miles (51 kilometers) of existing freight lines, and serves nine stations.
After a series of delays, Capital MetroRail was inaugurated in March 2010. Daily riders during the first nine months are about 800 riders per business day, even though it has doubled to 1600 on its first anniversary. Metro Capital adds an extra run during mid-day beginning mid-January 2011. Capital Metro adds Friday night and Saturday afternoon and evening regularly scheduled services on March 23, 2012.
By 2014, MetroRail has an average passenger on weekdays of around 2,900 passengers per day and is the country's twenty-twoth commuter rail system of twenty-seven operational commuter rail systems.
Video Capital MetroRail
Histori
Modern urban rail advocates began calling on the city of Austin to develop a passenger rail system at the height of the 1970s energy crisis. When voters approved the creation of Capital Metro in 1985, the agency was not only seen as a new operator of the local bus service, but also the developer of future passenger trains. The following year, Capital Metro partnered with City of Austin to buy Giddings-to-Llano Austin and the 162-mile Northwestern Railroad where the Red Line currently operates from the South Pacific Transportation Company with the clear intention of someday operating a passenger train on my t. The purchase price is $ 9.3 million, of which $ 6 million comes from a grant from the Federal Transit Administration, $ 0.6 million comes from City of Austin and $ 2.7 million comes from Metro Capital. On May 20, 1998, Capital Metro acquired City of Austin shares on a railroad for $ 1 million.
During the 1990s, Metro Capital faced persistent bad publicity resulting from poor dysfunctional and accountability management. After years of not acting on passenger trains, the Texas Legislature in 1997 stepped in and ordered public transport providers to hold a referendum up and down on light rail. In response, Capital Metro devised an ambitious plan for $ 1.9 billion, a 52-mile system that includes the north-south Red Line and the east-west Green Line.
The 2000 proposal was narrowly defeated with 2,000 votes, with most of the central Austin vote supporting and the suburbs and suburbs within the service area voted against the referendum. Capital Metro returned in 2004 with a version significantly smaller than the 2000 plan that voters expected in Travis County and Williamson County would find more suitable. The 2004 version is approved by 62% of voters in the service area. MetroRail is presented to voters as part of the System's Long Term Transit Plan, which also includes the expansion of local and express bus services. The Red Line, originally known as the Urban/Rural Urban Railway Service Line, approved by voters is seen as a starting point that will be part of a potential comprehensive passenger train system in the Greater Austin region. This corridor was selected for the first line after the Metro Capital Board identified the following areas as possible areas for future growth: the Highland Mall area, the 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 a system built in 2008 at a cost of $ 60 million, and borrowed $ 30 million for six train cars to be paid back over several years. About $ 30 million of that cost, they say, will come from the federal government. However, Metro Capital has never officially sought federal money and revealed in 2010 it has spent $ 105 million on system building instead of $ 90 million as suggested earlier. In addition, the initial launch date of 2008 for Capital MetroRail was postponed two years due to various safety and construction issues.
The service at Capital MetroRail finally began on March 22, 2010, due to security concerns and construction delays. On December 9, 2009, Metro Capital terminated its contract with Veolia Transport and renegotiated the contract with Herzog Transit Services.
On June 26, 2014, TxDOT awarded CapMetro with a $ 50 million grant for the purchase of four new carriages, anticipated to double the capacity, and for general repairs to the MetroRail Downtown station
Maps Capital MetroRail
Operation
The current Metrorail Capital System consists of the Red Line, a 32-mile lane that links Leander and the Austin Convention Center in Downtown Austin. This line also passes Cedar Park, northwest Austin, north-central Austin, and east Austin. The annual fee to operate RedLine is $ 14.3 million.
Although it provides commuter rail services, MetroRail uses rail operations, with semi-frequent service and walking trails in the city center. On January 18, 2011, Metro Capital added 13 additional mid-day trains to a previously unlimited schedule, as well as upgrades running during peak hours. In addition, the organization will run the train on a regular schedule Friday and Saturday starting March 23, 2012. In addition to the normal schedule Friday, the train will run every hour from 19:00 to 12:00 and every 35 minutes from 16:00 to 12:00 on Saturday. Before being scheduled regularly on Fridays and Saturdays, Metro Capital organizes weekend services for special occasions, such as the SXSW festival.
Red Line
MetroRail Capital currently consists only of Red Path , which is alternately designated as Route 550 on the Internal Capital Metro document. Its main terminus is Leander Station and Park & âââ ⬠<â â¬
Rolling stock
In September 2005, Stadler Rail won a tender to build six Stadler lightweight diesel-electric trains for this system. Each vehicle capital cost is about $ 6 million, and they run on 2 x 375 kW (510 Hp) = 750 kW (1020 Hp) diesel-electric engine. They are 9 feet 8 inches (2.95 m) wide and 134 feet (41 m) in length.
The vehicle has a capacity of 200 passengers, 108 seated and 92 standing. The train has a priority seating area (fully ADA compliant) for wheelchairs. "VIP Section" with space for laptop use with WiFi access is also included. Bicycle racks, luggage racks, tall racks, and low entry floor for easy access are all features of what Metro Metro Capital is the safest and most technologically advanced train in North America. WiFi is provided by cell-based 3G services. Metro Capital is currently researching increased access to 4G speeds, but is dependent on mobile operators offering commercial grade products that will work on Capital Metro devices. For security, the vehicle has ten cameras on the outside and six inside, as well as a sophisticated communication system.
Controversy
Although trains are available past midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, the last train that departs from the city center Monday to Thursday is at 6:30. There was a sizable disappointment that after spending so much money, the train runs a minimal schedule.
Future expansion
The potential expansion will require another referendum in the Metro Capital service area to obtain funding. All Metro Go Capital Plan Systems include studies into potential services in the future. Below are some good expansions in the planning process or being actively considered.
MoKan Corridor
Metro Capital has plans to build a new rail line along the "MoKan" railroad left to Georgetown, Round Rock and Pflugerville, owned by TXDot.
Capital Metro Green Line
In September 2008, Metro Capital evaluated the need for rail services to reduce pressure from congestion centers to the east like the city of Elgin. To fix this problem, CapMetro decided to plan the addition of another rail line to their service, or the Green Line. The Green Line will operate just like the Red Line, as it will run on existing shipping rails with adjustments made for them to allow passenger train services.
The train will depart from the red line and start heading east between the MLK Jr. red line station. and Plaza Saltillo, where the first stop will be a joint station with the potential Austin-Bergstrom Airport Rail Railway Railway. The route will then continue to four more stations, the last one in Elgin. This is where the line will end. In December 2008, a presentation, and then a follow-up, was given to the CAMPO Transit Working Group on the Green Line. In May 2018, County Court Commissioner Travis voted 3-2 to advance with Green Line's feasibility study.
Gateway Station
By 2015, CapMetro has taken the first step in planning a permanent downtown Gateway station for its MetroRail system. Although the current estimate for the proposed terminal cost is $ 30-35 million, $ 22 million of this amount will come directly from the Texas Transportation Department grant awarded to CapMetro in 2014. The proponents of the proposed station insist that this new station will not only alleviate congestion problems associated with the city center's current MetroRail terminal, but also serve as a cultural center where residents and visitors in the future can easily access a number of current and potential facilities, including but not limited to additional transportation systems, shopping, and recreational activities.
See also
- Tram-train
- North American commuter rail
- List of United States commuter rail systems by passengers
- List of transit train systems in the United States
- Stadler GTW
References
External links
- Metro Capital: Semua Sistem Go Long-Range Transit Plan
Source of the article : Wikipedia