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Metro rail lines open across Houston

Read More: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...on-6283385.php

Two new light rail lines might have been the ones debuting Saturday, but for many riders it was the East End, Third Ward and MacGregor Park neighborhoods themselves that were on display. After years of construction and months of testing, riders began boarding Green Line trains headed from downtown east along Harrisburg and Purple Line trains toward the University of Houston and Palm Center Transit Center on Saturday morning.

- The lines are the final two in what became years of light rail development in Houston, which endured controversies over procurement of Spanish-made trains, construction delays that nearby business owners blamed for slowing sales and skepticism that the $1.4 billion cost would reap rewards by redeveloping neighborhoods. --- Local officials hope the area, which hasn't enjoyed the redevelopment of some areas of Houston during the recent boom times, is helped by the addition of the Purple Line. Already there are some signs of investment in apartments and townhomes, notably around the University of Houston and Third Ward.

- Metro officials have said the measure of success with the lines will be their ability to both connect residents with other areas of the city, and to other transit options. The new lines, for the first time, give Houston a light rail system and not just a single light rail line. The Red, Green and Purple lines converge at Main at Capitol and Rusk. --- Along each of the new lines - including the downtown area where the Green and Purple lines share tracks - community celebrations were held, culminating with a concert at BBVA Compass Stadium. Metro spokesman Jerome Gray said the combined events, dubbed RailFest, cost $400,000. Parsons, which did engineering for the rail lines, contributed $100,000. HRT, the construction joint venture that built the lines, contributed $300,000, Gray said.

- The free rides to celebrate the lines helped lure folks to the Red Line as well. Cary Reese took her daughter Paige, 3, and son Simon, 6, for a train ride along the Green Line, before hopping on the Red Line for a zoo outing. --- "They like it," Reese said. "For them, it's an adventure." --- In downtown, the new lines run with traffic, westbound on Capitol and eastbound on Rusk. There are theater district, Main and Convention Center stops on each street. With so many people moving into the Houston area, and so much of that growth leading to more density within Loop 610, Stan Leong said light rail is a natural solution. "It's a start to get some of the cars off the street," he said.

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