WHY METRO TRAINS ARE ALREADY ROLLING AROUND UH 
No, the new light-rail lines won’t be ready to carry passengers anytime this year — if you’re looking for a ride, check again in 2015. But over the next couple of weeks, you may see a Southeast Line train or 2 skirting the western and southern borders of the University of Houston. Starting today, Metro will be shuttling vehicles along the path shown in red on the Purple Line map at left, from the corner of Elgin and Scott Streets through MacGregor Park to the vehicle storage facility just past the Palm Center Transit Center — for safety testing. Map: Metro
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Slow news day?
this is as good a thread as any to post my latest METRO gripe: how much testing is really necessary? The green line is now delayed until next year for issues revealed last week. Then why are trains running up and down Harrisburg all damn day? If they have identified what needs repair, could we get the traffic lights back on the regular cycles and the trains off the track during rush hour? What–another 6 months or more of all the traffic aggravations of at-grade rail, despite the fact the rail isn’t even operational. Grrr, quit taunting me, Metro.
9:53 pm and I can hear the hollow, electronic train horn from my study’s window, the sad woot of the empty car. Despite the fact that I cannot ride the Metro train, it runs. Past me on my morning commute, it runs. Stopping traffic for 10 minutes on my way home. Always, it runs.
Point of fact. When METRO wanted to build the Red Line it pitched the LRT vehicles as being very quiet, especially by comparison with buses. They’ve been misleading the public since day one. I want that agency to be reformed so as that the public gets to vote directly for board members. I want some accountability for an organization that has demonstrated time and time again that it is not deserving of operating its own fiefdom independently.
Hopefully during this “testing phase”, Metro will discover the poorly designed intersection at MLK and Old Spanish Trail. This intersection is unique as MLK “bows out” as it crosses OST. The road seperates similar to a “Y” and rejoins itself after the intersection. The new rail continues straight, just like a typical rail/ street intersection. At this rail crossing, there’s no “arm” to stop traffic, just a “Watch for Trains” sign. Yeah, this is going to work, with an odd crossing. A collision will happen here sooner rather than later.
The trains should be good to go in a month, it doesn’t take 6 months to test the train tracks and trams. In Europe all the cities that kept their Tram systems, instead of ripping out the Trolley cars like we did, run public transport in a more elegant and efficient way. The bus system running on every damn street and clogging up Westheimer by stopping at every intersection is beyond stupid. It makes more sense to run a Tram that stops only at major shopping and employment points right up the middle of Westheimer, since the street has no old growth trees and too many lanes it would be perfect instead of Richmond or another side street that isn’t where people want to go anyway. Also Post Oak bus lanes are annoying and a huge step backwards, kill the bus lines and build trams and express trains to the suburbs via the tollways already built. The trains to the suburbs could run as an elevated level right over lanes of the tollways instead of making another dead zone of easements to run train lines. Also I-69 (aka 59) at the point it reaches downtown could have been directed around to the Pierce elevated so at least one ugly elevated freeway loop could be removed from the downtown cityscape. It would also be a dream to see the GRB turned in to an Art Museum that could be home to Houston’s great collections, all of them…….the dome could be a much better convention center complex and the GRB could be demolished and rebuilt as a modern marvel of design…..maybe even a Frank Gehry if we could redirect some of our faux city elders fake fortunes to pay for something that great, The Holly Hobby Center was a huge let down……
I hope we can get this train to Hobby, maybe even Almeda, somewhere…
Tired of driving everywhere and only being able to rely on a shoddy bus system. Houston is great and disappointing at the same time.
We need the rail system from IAH to Hobby Airport…ridiculous to be in a major city without it!