Early traffic sparse on first day of Metro's light rail revenue service

Traffic was sparse on the toy train this morning... Traffic was NOT sparse on the freeways unfortunately...



Early traffic sparse on first day of Metro's light rail revenue service

By LUCAS WALL
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
Take a tour: Explore Houston's new light rail system.

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Traffic was light so far this morning during the first day of revenue service for Metro's Main Street light rail line. There were a few bumps in the road, with an emerging complaint about parking costs and a stalled train.


The first few trains carried only a handful of passengers, but later things got a bit more crowded, with the busiest part of the line, as expected, being the Texas Medical Center stations, with many workers taking advantage of the train.

The first train departed Fannin South Park & Ride at 4:57 this morning with no one aboard aside from two Chronicle reporters and one of their friends. The train picked up its first nonreporter customer at the Smithlands Station, where 17 Texas Medical Center employees boarded.
John Everett / Chronicle
Metro employee Wally Elmasri, a senior project engineer, helps Rachel Bi operate the ticket machine on Metro's light rail train platform at the Preston Street station downtown today.

The group was disgruntled because they had been told the first train would come through at 4:30 a.m. In fact, the first train at Smithlands passed through at 5:04, matching the schedule that Metro has issued. Earlier trains don't start until Jan. 26.


Verree Rodgers was among the group of employees who had been waiting in the chilly 48-degree darkness for the train to shuttle them from the Smithland parking lot into the Medical Center.

Rodgers said the workers in her group, all scheduled to start work at 5 a.m., would be reporting late because of the mixup over the train schedule.

Janice Gilbert also boarded at the Smithlands Station on her way to Bush Intercontinental Airport for a flight to Bangor, Maine. Gilbert said she was eager to try the light rail as she has long been waiting the option to take a train in Houston.

Gilbert got off the train downtown and transferred to a Metro bus running up to the airport.



Later in the morning, a northbound train encountered a problem traveling to the Museum District at about 8 a.m. and was taken to the University of Houston-Downtown Station to be put out of service and examined.

That stalled train delayed another northbound train behind it, forcing that train to sit in Hermann Park for about five minutes.


The early-bird passengers discovered that the first train every morning in each direction will run no faster than 20 mph. The train driver made the announcement, apologizing for the slow speeds, saying that Metro must run a "sweeper" train first thing each morning to look for any obstructions on the railroad tracks.

None having been found this morning, the trains are now running at their standard speeds.


Delores Johnson of north Houston was among the first few passengers on the first southbound revenue train. Johnson was heading to work at Women's Hospital of Texas in the Medical Center and she said she's glad the train is running now because "I won't have to ride as many buses."

Johnson used to take three buses to work and now only must take one bus from her home to downtown, where she can board the light rail.


Terry Wilson parked his car at the Fannin South lot, the southern terminus of the line. Metro is charging $2 a day for parking at that station, the first time the transit authority has charged for parking at any of its lots.

Wilson said he was surprised at the parking fee and is unsure whether he will continue taking the train because he feels the combined $4 a day parking and train fare is too much for his short trip up to the Medical Center.


Gerald Jenkins of Missouri City, on board the 7:50 a.m. train out of Fannin South, said he was surprised to be charged for parking at the Park & Ride.

Jenkins said he saw a couple of cars in front of him turn around a leave the parking lot after an employee approached asking for the $2 parking fee.

Jenkins said he was traveling downtown to do some business and though he normally does not commute downtown, he figured it would be smart to take the train and see how it works.

Trains are running every 12 minutes today as Metro enters a three-week period of limited service. Trains operate until 10 p.m.