Houston rail system? Options

[impala454]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5829400.html

The plan, which would cost about $3 billion — although no funding details were included — calls for sharing tracks with freight trains on lines that have light traffic. The five recommended lines are:

• U.S. 290, with a passenger terminal and maintenance facility near Metro's Northwest Transit Center. This would connect to Metro's planned Uptown light rail line.

• Texas 3 to Galveston

• Texas 249 to Tomball with "back door" service to The Woodlands

• Texas 35 to Pearland

• Almeda Road, later turning west and providing an indirect route to Fort Bend County

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said he will push for commuter trains to start running as soon as possible on the U.S. 290 and Texas 3 routes, even though the overall plan may not be developed yet.

Plan says they want to use existing rail where they can, and share with lightly traveled freight lines. Sounds like a pretty good idea. 45 to galveston is disgusting during the summer, and 290 is nasty every damn weekday of the year.

[Hartmann]

Wish they would have left the original line on 10, then we could have had that option as well.

I'm moving to the Heights in a few weeks so the Uptown system will help me.

[Spectatrix]

Cool. They're doing a rail system in Austin too. A light rail opening up this fall, going from Leander to downtown (probably with expansions in the future), then a regional commuter rail from Georgetown to San Antonio.

[schwab]

Cool. They're doing a rail system in Austin too. A light rail opening up this fall, going from Leander to downtown (probably with expansions in the future), then a regional commuter rail from Georgetown to San Antonio.

yup but one line can only do so much. I dont think it will be successful due to it being mainly for commuters and go to very limited places....They need one that goes down to Buda, and one that goes up I35 beyond 183 to round rock.

But I guess it is a start....

[Testm0nkey]

id love to be able to use public transportation! though none of those proposed routes work for me other than galveston trips. but i can wait! i would/am still thinking about riding metro in Houston but i think commuting with my own car would possibly be more environmentally friendly and most definitely cheaper than a metro pass.

why is it so expensive!? why do other countries have amazingly efficient public transportation for the equivalent of 20 cents american. (sarcasm i have a fairly good idea why but itd still be nice to have something like that in the future)

[Hartmann]

why is it so expensive!? why do other countries have amazingly efficient public transportation for the equivalent of 20 cents american. (sarcasm i have a fairly good idea why but itd still be nice to have something like that in the future)

Well a majority of European countries rely on rail for long distances and buses for local transportation. Only the big cities have subway/light rail.

Most of the cost is infrastructure (but like you said, you have a fairly good idea).

[Oasis]

Cool. They're doing a rail system in Austin too. A light rail opening up this fall, going from Leander to downtown (probably with expansions in the future), then a regional commuter rail from Georgetown to San Antonio.

Where the hell is it gonna run? Concurrent to 183?

The article said "back door." Uh huh huh hu uh huh huh

[Hartmann]

Where the hell is it gonna run? Concurrent to 183?

The article said "back door." Uh huh huh hu uh huh huh

I think it may use the rail line already in place in Leander and follow that down to a split near the MoPac line. At least that's what my fiancee was saying (who is from Leander).

[Mommy]

Will calls people from Leander "Leanderthals"

[Spectatrix]

yup but one line can only do so much. I dont think it will be successful due to it being mainly for commuters and go to very limited places....They need one that goes down to Buda, and one that goes up I35 beyond 183 to round rock.

But I guess it is a start....

The commuter rail they're building later on (reg rail, not light) is going to all those places. Through Austin, it's along MoPac, not sure about elsewhere.

http://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/regional-...uter-rail.shtml

Passenger service on these tracks could eventually connect you to Georgetown, Round Rock, Austin, Buda/Kyle, San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio.

Where the hell is it gonna run? Concurrent to 183?

The article said "back door." Uh huh huh hu uh huh huh

http://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/capital-metrorail.shtml

I think it's mainly using rail lines that were already in place, just building new passenger stations.

[Melanie]

The line from Austin - San Antonio will be stopping in New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Buda. Just a little FYI.

AND FUCK Y'ALL DAMMIT! I want a LRT here in San Antonio. But NOOOOO stupid fucking San Antonians had to vote it down 8 years ago. We have a horrible BRT system.

[Spectatrix]

The line from Austin - San Antonio will be stopping in New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Buda. Just a little FYI.

Yeah, 'cause, ya know... my last post didn't mention that at all.

AND FUCK Y'ALL DAMMIT! I want a LRT here in San Antonio. But NOOOOO stupid fucking San Antonians had to vote it down 8 years ago. We have a horrible BRT system.

So move. San Antonio sucks.

[Mommy]

San Antonio's freeway system is the most unorganized mess of streets I have ever seen. Even though traffic is worse in Houston, Dallas, and Austin, San Antonio's roads make getting around more difficult.

[Melanie]

Yeah, 'cause, ya know... my last post didn't mention that at all.
So move. San Antonio sucks.

oops, sorry.

And I actually do like San Antonio. I just wish we were more pedestrian friendly.

I hate Houston and Dallas. But I want to stay in Texas. Only way I'm moving to Austin is if I get into UT Law.

[Oasis]

The line from Austin - San Antonio will be stopping in New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Buda. Just a little FYI.

COOL!

Everyone can stop in Buda and do....absolutely....nothing.

[Melanie]

I dunno... Buda is starting to grow.

[Mommy]

oops, sorry.

And I actually do like San Antonio. I just wish we were more pedestrian friendly.

I hate Houston and Dallas. But I want to stay in Texas. Only way I'm moving to Austin is if I get into UT Law.

Houston isn't bad. DWF is a little too big for me. Too many freeways, and it's easy to get lost.

[Oasis]

I dunno... Buda is starting to grow.

I've found one use for buda....going to my friend's land and getting wasted. Now buda is useless because I hate the guy and I don't really drink anymore

Did they ever get around to installing running water down there?

[Melanie]

I have curly hair, Houston is humid... end of story.

There are more reasons why, but that seems to be my funniest reason why I refuse to live there.

The freeway system here is pretty simple actually. And we have a bunch of roads that connect highways. Fredricksburg, Bandera (which is a horrible example but it does), Culebra, Wurzbach, Babcock, Callaghan, Wurzbach Parkway, Broadway, Military, Marbach. Those are just the major ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

[Oasis]

You have a bunch of roads, which lead nearly head on to a bunch of other roads, making it mildly difficult for someone with common sense to navigate around the town without crashing head on in to oncoming traffic and getting killed

[Melanie]

*shrugs* I guess I do just fine. But I'm from here. I get really lost in Austin. I knew how to get to work and that's about it.

[Mommy]

I have curly hair, Houston is humid... end of story.

There are more reasons why, but that seems to be my funniest reason why I refuse to live there.

The freeway system here is pretty simple actually. And we have a bunch of roads that connect highways. Fredricksburg, Bandera (which is a horrible example but it does), Culebra, Wurzbach, Babcock, Callaghan, Wurzbach Parkway, Broadway, Military, Marbach. Those are just the major ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

Yeah, I mean I get the system, but I think it's ridiculous that I-10, I-35, I-37, and Highway 90 all merge together at some point. You have to be in the correct lane to stay on the highway you want to be on. It's very difficult for travelers. My parents drove to Dallas no problem, but were astonished by how much of a mess SA was when they came here last month. The only thing that makes sense there are the loops (and they have problems) and the roads that connect them, like Culebra and Patranco. Loop 410, though, is such a mess from construction that it really isn't even worth the supposed convenience. Loop 1604 isn't finished. I mean, really, it is a mess there.

[Oasis]

*shrugs* I guess I do just fine. But I'm from here. I get really lost in Austin. I knew how to get to work and that's about it.

I get lost in Austin because the street signs are faded and haven't been replaced in 20 years and the roads haven't been restriped since Bush was governor

[Mommy]

*shrugs* I guess I do just fine. But I'm from here. I get really lost in Austin. I knew how to get to work and that's about it.

Austin has got to be the easiest city I have ever lived in/been to. I visited there my first time in Oct 2005, and I was able to drive around without a map or directions. The highway system is simple, and pretty much everything is off of the highways.

[Spectatrix]

and the roads haven't been restriped since Bush was governor

Idaho is worse. Fuck, I hated that place.

[Hartmann]

I thought the DFW road system was decent while I lived there, especially if you were going east or west.

Houston has a smart system (with the rings around the city), there's just too many freakin' people. In Dallas most of the freeways were 3-lanes each way and only a few roads had HOV lanes.

[jwttu]

I thought the DFW road system was decent while I lived there, especially if you were going east or west.

Houston has a smart system (with the rings around the city), there's just too many freakin' people. In Dallas most of the freeways were 3-lanes each way and only a few roads had HOV lanes.

They have added alot of miles of hov lanes in the past year. 635 has lanes from 35 to 30 and 75 has lanes from allen to high five.

Also they are about to tear up 121/114 right around dfw airport and make it 4-5 lanes each way, its gonna be a mess until then

[schwab]

any system would be great, the main problem is with trains in the US is once you get to the city you want to go to, you have no way of getting around.

[Hartmann]

They have added alot of miles of hov lanes in the past year. 635 has lanes from 35 to 30 and 75 has lanes from allen to high five.

Also they are about to tear up 121/114 right around dfw airport and make it 4-5 lanes each way, its gonna be a mess until then

Good to hear they're trying.

I can't picture 121/114 getting any worse, then again, anything is possible.

I used to live on 635 and thought it move pretty well until you headed west and people started forgetting how to drive.

[schwab]

take out HOV lanes and build mass transit.......

[Spectatrix]

any system would be great, the main problem is with trains in the US is once you get to the city you want to go to, you have no way of getting around.

Well the Austin stuff is supposed to be pretty well integrated with the bus system. Being a UT staff member, I get to ride the buses for free... I wonder if the light rail will be free too?