Could Capital Metro's commuter rail be up and running as early as January? It's possible.
Officially Cap Metro is sticking with a Red Line start up time frame as the first quarter of next year. But after today's board meeting, Cap Metro's interim president said a January start up date is not out of the question.
Cap Metro's Red Line test runs during the afternoon and evening are delighting some commuters.
"Anything with commuting I think would clear up a lot of traffic in Austin," said Michelle Hunter.
Wednesday it was learned every one of the Red Line routes run the previous two days was on time and no failures were reported.
"I feel very good about the fact that we've been running them for the last couple of days and they've been running on time," said Doug Allen, Capital Metro's interim President and CEO.
Wednesday Cap Metro board members learned that while some signal system software modifications still needed to be addressed, Cap Metro is hoping to test and validate the rail system before the end of the year. The Federal Railroad Administration will be called in to give its final approval.
"And if they agree with us that it's ready to go, we'll announce a date and start carrying passengers," Allen said.
The FRA has asked Cap Metro not to announce a specific start up date.
"We're still saying first quarter. It will be January, February or March and as we get closer, we'll nail down a time," Allen said.
Some commuters weren't buying it.
"I think it's a lie because they have been saying that for two and a half to three quarters years and it has not opened yet," said Martin Tenney.
"I think for the most part there is frustration> People would like to see the Red Line up and running but I think they would rather wait until it's safe to operate and safe for them to ride before we open it," said Austin City Councilman Mike Martinez.
"It's Austin, you have to be a little laid back, just a little," Hunter said.
Cap Metro says one reason why it still can't announce an exact start up date is because the FRA could come in and find additional problems during the validation process-- if so there's no way of knowing how long it would take to correct those problems.
