Houston METRO delays opening of two light rail lines to 2015

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

The opening date for Houston METRO's new East End (Green) and Southeast (Purple) Lines have been revised. Issues affecting completion of the additional 10 miles of rail include problems on non-METRO construction projects in the central business district and the performance of equipment used to regulate METRO's light-rail traffic.

The new light-rail extensions are projected to transport customers by April 4, 2015.

Factors that prompted the delay include a private utility chilled waterline rupture caused by a contractor; construction on the GRB garage and issues with the performance of axle counters.

The August 21 break in the chilled water line, located directly under the Southeast Line, caused a significant delay in METRO construction activities. The water line repair activities alone lasted two weeks and METRO contractors had to work another three weeks to replace guideway that had to be moved to accommodate the water line repair.
Additional work, including reinstallation of fiber optic cable, signal testing and re-testing, brought delays to a total of 12 weeks.

Problems with performance of axle counters were noted during early testing of the new North Line extension and a May, 2014 report cited temperature variations and moisture penetration as the root cause.

Another issue affecting downtown light-rail progress is construction of a garage over the Southeast Line adjacent to the GRB at Rusk Street and Avenida de las Americas. That construction requires nightly shutdowns of rail, impacting system integration testing and operations.

 

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