METRORail
Light rail system in Houston
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We include updates on Houston Metro, METRORapid University Line, METRORapid Silver Line, UH–Downtown station, McGowen station, Hermann Park/Rice University station, Ensemble/HCC station, Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston Zoo station, Dryden/TMC station, Wheeler station, Texas Medical Center Transit Center, Main Street Square station, Museum District station, Smith Lands station, Stadium Park/Astrodome station, Fannin South station ... and more.
| December 15 2022 | The new Siemens S700 vehicles (H4) entered service on the METRORail system. |
| 2020 | Siemens re-designated the S70 vehicles to S700, incorporating modifications to the center section for improved passenger flow. |
| August 23 2020 | Bus rapid transit route from Westpark/Lower Uptown Transit Center to Northwest Transit Center was opened, further developing the transit infrastructure. |
| November 2019 | METRO presented the METRONext Moving Forward Plan to Houston area voters, who approved the $3.5 billion bond by a nearly two-to-one margin. The plan includes expanding the Red Line north to North Shepherd park & ride, and extending the Green and Purple lines to William P Hobby Airport and Houston Municipal Courthouse. |
| February 2019 | METRO ordered 14 additional Siemens S700 vehicles (H4) with interior modifications to improve passenger flow, sourced from Minneapolis–Saint Paul Metro Transit's unexercised options. |
| May 2018 | METRO requested the transfer of 14 vehicle options from Minneapolis–Saint Paul Metro Transit for their light rail system. |
| November 4 2017 | Recorded 125,000 passenger boardings during the Houston Astros World Series victory parade and rally in Downtown. |
| February 4 2017 | Recorded 109,500 passenger boardings during Super Bowl LI. |
| January 11 2017 | The final two Green Line stations (Cesar Chavez/67th Street and Magnolia Park) entered service after construction of an overpass. |
| March 2016 | METRO concluded the paper bus transfer trial, ending free boarding with paper transfers |
| July 2015 | METRO began a trial of paper bus transfers on rail lines, allowing free boarding before noon and valid until 15:00 |
| May 23 2015 | Two significant routes were opened: one from Smith Street in Downtown Houston to Palm Center, and another from Smith Street to Magnolia Park Transit Center, expanding the METRORail network. |
| May 23 2015 | All but two stations on the eastern end of the Green Line opened after numerous delays. |
| January 2015 | First six H3 series rail cars were delivered and entered service, manufactured by CAF in Elmira, New York and based on the CAF Urbos platform. |
| March 19 2014 | Recorded 76,925 passengers, partly due to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. |
| January 2014 | North/Red Line Extension exceeded ridership projections by 62%, averaging 4,200 weekday boardings. |
| 2013 | METRO announced that the Uptown Line would initially be constructed as a bus rapid transit (BRT) line, with the design allowing future conversion to light rail. |
| December 21 2013 | The North/Red Line extension opened ahead of its projected early 2014 timeline, increasing the line to 24 stations and adding Central Station for transfers. |
| December 2012 | The newly purchased Siemens S70 vehicles entered service on the METRORail system. |
| October 2012 | The 19 Siemens S70 vehicles were delivered to METRO. |
| March 15 2012 | Recorded 70,611 passengers, many attending the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and a performance by The Band Perry at Reliant Park sports complex. |
| 2011 | METRO purchased 19 additional Siemens S70 vehicles for $83 million to accommodate ridership ahead of expectations, sourced from Utah Transit Authority's TRAX system contract. |
| 2011 | Burnett Transit Center park and ride facility project was canceled and scaled back to a multimodal stop, despite original plans to open in late 2014. |
| 2011 | The Southwest Rail Corridor was proposed to connect Fannin South and Missouri City, though the project was ultimately not constructed. |
| December 2011 | Reached 75 million total boardings, four years ahead of the original schedule. |
| December 8 2011 | The Federal Transit Administration finally announced a $900 million grant, split into two $450 million grants for the Red Line Extension and Purple lines. |
| November 2011 | President Barack Obama issued an executive order approving a $900 million grant for METRORail expansions, marking the first federal funding for the system. |
| September 2011 | METRO approved the purchase of 39 vehicles from CAF, complying with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and 'Buy America' guidelines. |
| February 2011 | The million-dollar order with CAF USA was cancelled, with CAF providing a partial refund which METRO applied to future car purchases. |
| September 9 2010 | METRO announced delays in opening dates for the Red Line Extension, Purple and Green lines, pushing them back to 2014. |
| August 2010 | METRO announced a $49 million budget shortfall, halting progress on the University Line. |
| July 2010 | The University Line received a final Federal Record of Decision letter from the FTA. |
| May 2010 | METRO placed a total order of 105 cars with CAF USA for system expansion, which was later investigated by the Federal Transit Administration for violating the Buy America Act. |
| April 2010 | The Federal Transit Administration opened an investigation into METRO's vehicle procurement process. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article METRORail, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.