Texas Capital MetroRail Opens

23 March 2010 (Last Updated March 23rd, 2010 18:30)

Service has begun on the US city of Austin's Capital MetroRail along the 32-mile Red Line between Leander and the Convention Center. The first modern passenger rail system in Central Texas, it operates on existing freight tracks and covers nine stations on the route. The servi

Service has begun on the US city of Austin's Capital MetroRail along the 32-mile Red Line between Leander and the Convention Center.

The first modern passenger rail system in Central Texas, it operates on existing freight tracks and covers nine stations on the route.

The service provides nine trips in the morning, six southbound and three northbound, and ten trips in the afternoon, six northbound and four southbound.

Carrying 200 passengers at a time and operating at speeds of up to 60mph, the line is served by six Swiss-made self-propelled diesel-electric trains.

The service is part of the city's All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan.