Those trains from Spain that gave the feds cause to complain yesterday are gonna delay the completion of all three light-rail lines now under construction, Metro announced today. The transit agency backed off its earlier ETA for the North, Southeast, and East End lines, saying that meeting the previously announced October 2013 completion date is no longer feasible. The problem: getting at $900 million in grant money from the Federal Transit Administration, which Metro had been expecting to arrive soon. The FTA is now requiring a promise from the transit agency to rebid the railcar contract before it’ll continue considering the application for the bulk of those funds. Sez Metro: “A delay of up to one year is anticipated.”
- Metro: Completion of 3 light-rail lines pushed back up to a year [River Oaks Examiner]
- Clarification Regarding Rail Construction Schedule [Metro]
- Previously on Swamplot: Feds To Metro: Back off the Spanish Trains and We’ll Fund Your North and Southeast Lines
Drawing of future Southeast Corridor light rail line on MLK near Madalyn Ln.: Metro
