After years of inaction on passenger rail, the Texas Legislature in 1997 stepped in and ordered the public transport provider to hold an up-or-down referendum on light rail. ĭuring the 1990s, Capital Metro faced persistent bad publicity that resulted from dysfunctional management and poor accountability. On May 20, 1998, Capital Metro acquired the City of Austin's share in the railroad for $1 million. The purchase price was $9.3 million, of which $6 million came from a grant from the Federal Transit Administration, $0.6 million came from the City of Austin and $2.7 million came from Capital Metro. The next year, Capital Metro partnered with the City of Austin to purchase the 162-mile (261 km) Giddings-to- Llano Austin and Northwestern Railroad (on which the Red Line currently operates) from the Southern Pacific Transportation Company with the express purpose of someday operating passenger rail on it. When voters approved Capital Metro's creation in 1985, the agency was seen not only as the new operator of local bus services, but the developer of a future passenger rail as well. Capital Metro added Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening regularly scheduled service on March 23, 2012.Īdvocates of modern urban rail began calling on the city of Austin to develop a passenger rail system at the height of the 1970s energy crisis. Capital Metro added additional runs during midday beginning in mid-January 2011. Daily ridership during the first nine months was approximately 800 riders per weekday, although it had doubled to 1,600 by its first anniversary. In 2022, the line had a ridership of 466,800, or about 1,300 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2022.Īfter a series of delays, Capital MetroRail was inaugurated in March 2010. The line operates on 32 miles (51 km) of existing freight tracks, and serves nine stations. The Red Line, Capital Metro's first and only rail line, connects Downtown Austin with Austin's northern suburbs. Capital MetroRail is a hybrid rail (light rail with some features similar to commuter rail) line that serves the Greater Austin area in Texas, and which is owned by Capital Metro.
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