If you can’t wait just those few more years to hop on the new light-rail line serving the East End, this automotive video approximation might tide you over. HAIF poster ricco67’s tracing of the drivable portions of the route from the new Smith St. station on the western edge of Downtown (shared with the new Southeast Line) to the Magnolia Transit Center provides snapshots of construction progress and a steady diet of orange construction barrels. Also available: these shorter tours showing progress on the Southeast Line and the coming extension to the existing North Line:
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Videos: ricco67
I find it especially curious that the driver on the Northline video ‘accidentally’ turned the camera off when he drove through the ‘big turn’ from Main–Boundary Street–Fulton, which will no doubt slow this thing down considerably. Needless to say, I am very excited about this and live steps away from Moody Park Station.
Viva Northside!
Things really are moving right along. They seem to work on the north rail around the clock (even after the sun sets). Yay!
I guess he clicked it off at Quitman. I take Hogan when I can because Quitman is always blocked due to huge bulldozers, etc. I’m not complaining– just glad I know an alternate route between northside village & the heights!
I find it odd that it takes so long for construction to complete in Houston. I mean Kirby Drive has been in the works for the past 6 years. In Dubai they built an above ground light rail within 2 years. Should it take ten years to build a light rail in houston? Plus why isnt it underground like other cities. We aren’t a poor city, forbes just said houston had the 8th most millionaires
How accessible will the Quitman station be to the heights? It blows my mind that our one true “street car” community has been completely ignored.
Aww Shucks…! Guess we Houston folks ain’t ever going to be “metropolitan” like NYC or SF….
@Mel- White oak turns into Quitman.. I make the drive all the time :)
Northside, I do know that, what I am wondering is where on Quitman the rail is going to hit. Will it be walkable from White Oak? I can obviously drive down there myself, but if someone knows…
@Mel, station appears to be located at the corner of Main and Quitman. it would be a bit of haul to walk it from the Heights, bring your bike instead. PS: Light Rail in the Heights, no way in hell would it ever get passed, too many front yards to eat up to make room for it.
This is all fine and well, but can I just point out the pink elephant (NOT) in the room and ask, “Where the HECK is the University line?!?”
Like the ephemeral Bank of the Southwest tower, I have a sinking feeling the signature line in our mass transit system is dying a slow, silent, yet certain death amidst the fanfare for the other Metrorail lines to nowhere.
Much thanks to @ricco67 for the video! Just had a correction to his last comment in the North Line one, though – the line will end in the middle of Fulton, adjacent to the Northline Transit Center. Passengers will walk from the trains to connecting buses or other vehicles from the station platforms near the end of the line, so trains won’t have to veer into the NTC as stated in the video. I’m not sure what will happen in the similar situation on the East End Line, but I’d think it’s the same as the North Line.
I have a lot of hope for the train. I don’t think it woudl be impossible to have a “Heights line”. Why not run an elevated train from Quitman to White Oak, following I10, first stop at Houston Ave, and then cross down to the middle of 6th at Studewood at street level (another stop) making both sides of 6th one driving lane, until it hits Yale (another stop) and then cross back up to an elevated line and then street level following I10 out to Katy, stopping at the Marquis/Ikea, Bunker Hill and beyond. Yale would be a great place to run yet another train in both directions, down either side of the one-way road, with stops at 11th and 19th headed North to Garden Oaks/Oak Forest, and beyond. It also seems a no-brainer to run the line around the 610 loop.
Mel, I agree, and we can all dream, but elevated rail lines cost mega bucks. With the serious political and financial tension the current plan has created, I doubt that we are going to see more than what Metro has planned. Folks in the Heights will have to stick to the bus, which, ironically, I see very few use.
Mel, what you describe would definitely be my dream train. Send it down I-10, then around the beltway towards both 59 and 290 from I-10 and also out to Katy and I (and I’m sure many others) would never have to drive a car again.
One can only dream…
I think the East line should continue to Highway 3 and then high speed rail should be built to carry passengers to JSC and then on to League City (FM 518 or FM 646) and then to Texas City and finally Galveston. One can dream!