Rail on track for 2008 arrival

Rail on track for 2008 arrival

By Rachel Youens Wednesday, 07 March 2007

MetroRail connects Northwest Austin to downtown

Only about 2,000 votes kept a 52-mile light rail track out of Austin back in 2000. With half of voters feeling underserved by the project, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority went back to the drawing board.

They started by listening, and in the end heard input from nearly 8,000 citizens.

Capital Metro returned in 2004 with a scaled-back plan of 32 miles of commuter rail, using existing track rather than new. They also took the starting point of the line and moved it from Howard Lane, in Northwest Austin, north to the city of Leander. This plan, known as All Systems Go, passed with nearly 62 percent voter approval.

“For the amount of money we could put down, this route made the most sense. It was economical since the line was there, and it also passed through some of the fastest growing areas,” said Julie Martin, Capital Metro’s Community Involvement Coordinator who was there in 2004 taking feedback from the public. She points out that while moving from light rail to commuter rail meant cutting out other areas of Austin, these areas are better served with other parts of the All Systems Go plan, such as street cars.

Today, Capital Metro has branded this commuter line the MetroRail, and beginning in 2008 it will be running Austinites from the downtown Convention Center to Leander in around 55 minutes.

Making the MetroRail

MetroRail and the All Systems Go plan do not employ any bonds, raise taxes or incur debt. The $90 million MetroRail is funded from the existing one cent sales tax Capital Metro reaps from Austin and other areas that Capital Metro services, government grants and rider fares. Last year Capital Metro received more than $135 million in tax revenue.

“MetroRail is one of the most [financially] efficient systems in the country because it’s already paid and it runs on existing track,” said Capital Metro spokesman Misty Whited. “Other cities that build from scratch pay much more, which is generally done with bonds or taxes.”

The MetroRail does not have the visual impact of other transportation projects, such as the toll roads, because the construction is minimal and spread out over a large area.

“One of the big misconceptions is that people don’t see anything being built, so they don’t think Capital Metro is on track,” Whited said. “Construction started in ’06 and a good example is the Leander Park and Ride.”

Construction has started on three projects along the rail line. Last July, Capital Metro approved a $711,000 contract for the Leander rail station, which opened Monday.

They approved contracts for two more projects in October, including a 2,000 ft. $5.5 million overpass on McNeil Road where MetroRail crosses the Union Pacific track, and the construction of the rail station at Lakeline Boulevard and Lyndhurst Street for $914,000.

Projects down the line include eight more stations, but Capital Metro has not yet executed the contracts for these projects.

Work on the first six rail cars has also begun. Capital Metro signed an initial $32.3 million contract with a Swiss rail manufacturer for six cars with an option of adding 12 more cars in the future. Each car is self-propelled by two diesel-electric engines.

“These particular cars are quieter than other commuter rail systems and are environmentally friendly, so noise and vibration shouldn’t be a problem,” Whited said.

The areas that the MetroRail cuts through are already crossed by freight trains carrying construction equipment and gravel, which will continue to run outside of peak commuter hours.

Rail as an investment

A major concern in 2004 was if ridership would justify the amount spent on commuter rail. Capital Metro’s most recent numbers estimate there will be 1,700 to 2,000 trips taken per day on the MetroRail.

“We feel that even those who aren’t ever going to ride the MetroRail are still going to benefit from less cars on the road and less air pollution,” Whited said. “Over time, as the rail becomes more common, more people will ride. Regional population growth is going to double in the next 25 years, so this is a plan that will accommodate that future.”

Capital Metro’s All Systems Go Plan

After light rail’s defeat in 2000, Capital Metro took a multifaceted approach to the city’s mass transportation needs.

Based on input from citizens and planners, Capital Metro devised the All Systems Go Plan, which integrates rail with buses and other forms of public transit.

The MetroRail was voted in as part of the All Systems Go plan in 2004. The ballot language specifically included that the plan would not issue any bonds, increase or add new taxes.

“This is really a very modest start for a city of our size. People just need to remember that the success of the rail isn’t just quantified by ridership,” said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. “The MetroRail will change land use patterns in the corridors it cuts through and bring development that wouldn’t be there otherwise.”

Other parts of All Systems Go

• Circulator service - This system aims to get people to and from the railway and major destinations such as the Mueller Redevelopment, malls and events centers. This part of the plan could lead to the introduction of streetcars.
• Additional Rail - Although adding any more rail service would require an additional referendum, Capital Metro is considering adding more service along the MoKan railway, which runs north and south through Pflugerville and Manor.
• Trails - Feasability studies are currently being done to put pedestrian and bike trails along the railway. No plans are seManor.

MetroRail

• Project funding: Through Capital Metro’s existing one cent sales tax in Austin and Capital Metro serving areas, fare revenue and federal grants and funding
• What is the cost: $90 million in construction and facility expenses and $6.4 million annual operating cost
• When is the completion date: The rail will be operational in 2008
• What tracks does it run on: Existing freight tracks owned by Capital Metro
• How is it powered: Each vehicle is self-propelled by two diesel-electric engines
• How many people does it seat: Each car seats 225 passengers (108 seated and 117 standing)
• How many cars: Six now and possibly more in the future
• How fast will it go: 70 mph in straightaway sections of the track. The trip from Leander to Downtown Austin will take about 55 minutes.
• How many stations will there be: Nine with eight of those in Austin and one in Leander
• For more information: www.allsystemsgo.capmetro.org

MetroRapid

• What is it: MetroRapid is a type of bus that is longer, articulated and equipped with special technology that talks with bus stops to give riders a real-time estimate of arrival and talks to traffic signals to change stoplights and lower the number of stops.
• What is the cost: There is no exact number yet, but the MetroRapid buses cost more because they are longer with more passenger capacity and a longer life span.
• When is the completion date: Capital Metro is still in the procurement process for the buses, but the board is preparing to approve the first buses to serve the North Lamar/South Congress corridor by 2009 or 2010.

Regional Commuter Rail

While MetroRail is on time and on budget, Central Texas’ other rail project has yet to find a source of funding.

Authorized by the Texas legislature, the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District brings together the Austin, San Antonio, Bexar County and Travis County governments to look at the reality of bringing a commuter rail to the region. The plan for funding has evolved since the project’s inception, but the current plan is to fund half with federal money and half with contributions from cities and counties benefitting from the train.

“Central Texas needs this rail because in 20 years the Austin-San Antonio corridor will be as crowded as Dallas-Fort Worth, and they have 30 lanes in the corridor between the cities and we’ll have six,” said Alison Schulze, senior planner and administrator of the rail district. The rough plan for rail includes a stop in Northwest Austin at Mopac and Braker Lane.

Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail

• Who sponsors it: Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District
• What is the cost: $613 million
• Start date: 2012, if funding and construction go forward on time. One of the large problems facing the project is that the Union Pacific Lines are currently running at full capacity, and about 80 percent of those trains are going through Texas on their way from Mexico to northern destinations. Union Pacific must divert some of this traffic to other lines before commuter rail can begin running.
• How it’s funded: Still being determined, but probably through government funds, developer sponsorship or through bonds sold by those cities along the route
• Railroad line: Union Pacific, and in some areas of MoKan
• For more information: www.asarail.com

Although the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District has an idea of what the trains and stations would look like, these images are all still conceptual. The regional commuter rail would be very similar to the Trinity Railway Express, which shuttles between Dallas and Fort Worth.