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METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (USA). With an average weekday ridership of 43,900 and total annual ridership of over 11.3 million, METRORail ranks as the second most-travelled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th most-traveled light rail system in the United States,〔(APTA Q4 2013 Light Rail Transit Ridership Report )〕 with the third highest ridership per track mile. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO). == History == This line was built after an approximately 20-year battle, starting in 1983 when Houston voters rejected a rail plan by referendum. A voter referendum in 1988 approved a light rail plan; however, Bob Lanier was elected mayor in 1992 and stopped the plan.〔 In 1991, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay removed $65 million in federal funding for the rail line.〔 Then, Houston drew up a rail plan with entirely local funding. In 2001, several groups sued to stop construction, claiming that the METRO organization was a "private business" and subject to Houston City Charter provisions regulating business use of its streets; they obtained 2 temporary injunctions in January 2001, which were reversed by appeals court on March 9, 2001.〔 Ground was broken on the original , 16-station portion of the line (from UH–Downtown to Fannin South) on March 13, 2001. The opening of METRORail, which took place on January 1, 2004, came 64 years after the previous streetcar system had been shut down. The cost was $324 million. Houston was the largest city in the United States without a rail system after the 1990 opening of the Blue Line in Los Angeles. Tom DeLay strongly opposed construction of the METRORail line and twice blocked federal funding for the system in the United States House of Representatives.〔 Thus the Metrorail was built without any federal funding until November 2011 when a $900 million grant was approved for expansions, under the executive order by President Barack Obama. In spite of the opposition of some groups to the Metrorail, surveys conducted by Stephen Klineberg and Rice University have shown consistent increases in support of rail transport and decreases in support for bigger and better roads/highways in the Houston metropolitan area in recent years. Klineberg considers these changes a "paradigm shift" or "sea change" on attitudes towards mass transit.〔〔 Construction began on the and 9-station North/Red Line Extension from UH–Downtown to the Northline Transit Center Station in July 2009. This extension opened on December 21, 2013 (ahead of its projected "early 2014" opening), increasing the line to its current total of and 24 stations.〔 The Purple Line, with 10 stations, and the Green Line, with 9 stations, began construction in July 2009. Both lines, together costing $1.3 billion, share a track segment in downtown, then run east and diverge. After numerous delays, all but two stations on the eastern end of the Green Line opened on May 23, 2015, while the remaining stations are expected to be in service by 2017 after the construction of an overpass. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「METRORail」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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