METRO AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON PROCLAIM AND CELEBRATE
“RALLY AROUND THE RAILS DAY”
Organizations work in partnership to encourage Houstonians to support local construction-zone businesses during the METRORail expansion project
The New METRO, in partnership with the City of Houston and Mayor Annise D. Parker, proclaimed May 22 as “Rally Around the Rails Day” at a press conference at the Northline Transit Center, located on the future North Light-Rail Line.
With active construction underway on three new light-rail lines, excitement is building about Houston’s transportation future. Launching during National Small Business Week, May 20 – 26, Rally Around the Rails is a citywide grassroots initiative that encourages Houstonians to patronize mom-and-pop businesses located along the construction zones and show their support for better transportation options for us all.
“Development of additional METRORail lines in our city means more jobs for thousands of local contractors, construction workers and engineers, but we also need to ensure these corridors stay thriving by supporting the small businesses located along the lines,” said Mayor Parker. “We need Houstonians to rally around the rails so we can continue to build a successful transit system for Houston.”
With nearly 500 businesses located in the north, east, southeast and downtown communities, Houstonians can experience each area while supporting construction-zone businesses. For a list of businesses and to browse the neighborhood guides, click here.
METRO Board Chairman Gilbert Garcia says good transit is a growing priority for the region, “The expanded light-rail system is an essential element of the region’s plans to meet the transportation and environmental challenges of today and tomorrow, easing our growing traffic congestion, improving our air quality and changing the way Houston moves.”
“Construction by its very nature is messy, and it’s crucial to the future of this project that we support businesses throughout construction and continue that support once the light-rail lines are completed,” George Greanias, president and CEO for METRO.
About our METRORail lines
Houston’s light rail service began with the 7.5-mile Main Street Line (Red Line). The line opened in 2004 and runs down Main St. from UH-Downtown through the Texas Medical Center to South Fannin. With 16 stations and 37,000 passengers per day*, it is one of the most successful and heavily traveled rail lines in the nation.
The METRORail expansion program lengthens the successful Main Street Line by 5.3 miles, adding eight stations. The extension is called the North (Red) Line, and it travels through the historic Northside. The East End (Green) Line has five stations and is 3.3 miles long, running from Harrisburg’s Magnolia Transit Center to a variety of downtown entertainment and business destinations. The 6.6-mile Southeast (Purple) Line begins downtown, runs along Capitol and Rusk and heads southeast to the Palm Center Transit Center at MLK and Griggs. This line adds 11 stations. For a detailed system map, please click here.
About METRO
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) is the region’s largest public transit provider, offering safe, reliable and affordable transportation services about 370,000 times per day. Besides operating more than 1,200 buses, METRO is currently expanding its 7.5-mile light-rail line (Red Line), with three new lines under construction. METRO’s services also include: Star Vanpool, METROLift, HOV lanes, HOT lanes, Bikes-on-Buses/Trains program, Park & Ride and road improvement projects. More information can be found on ridemetro.org.