Blue Line (CapMetro)

The Blue Line is a planned light rail line for connecting Austin–Bergstrom International Airport with downtown Austin, Texas. It is still in the planning stages as a part of CapMetro's Project Connect. It is estimated to begin revenue service as early as 2029.^[1][2]

Blue Line
Overview
Status	In planning
Locale	Austin, Texas
Termini	North Lamar Transit Center Austin–Bergstrom International Airport
Stations	20
Service
Type	Light rail
System	Capital MetroRail
Operator(s)	Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
History
Planned opening	2029
Route diagram Legend North Lamar Transit Center US 183 Future extension Phase I Priority Extension      Red Line to Leander Crestview Koenig 45th Street Phase I Priority Extension Phase I 38th Street 29th Street UT 15th Street Cesar Chavez      Red Line to Leander      Green Line to Colony Park Lady Bird Lake Waterfront      Orange Line to Stassney Travis Heights I-35 Lakeshore Riverside Faro Montopolis Yellow Jacket Phase I Phase I Priority Extension SH 71 US 183 Airport All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit

History

North Lamar Transit Center, the planned northern terminus of the line, seen in 2008

Austin's 2013 East Riverside Corridor Plan called for high-capacity transit to be installed along East Riverside Drive. This became part of the original Blue Line, which failed to find support in 2014 and was shelved. The Gold Line was formed from a segment of this original proposal, and is expected to be built as a separate bus rapid transit line.^[3]

In 2018, CapMetro announced a new long-range planning project entitled Project Connect that outlines several major transit corridors consisting of commuter rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit.^[4] The Blue Line corridor will include a transit pathway for a light rail or bus rapid transit line running on the west side of Downtown Austin to Austin–Bergstrom International Airport in southeast Austin.^[5] The line was included as part of the Project Connect referendum during the 2020 election.^[3][6]

Proposed route

A new bridge over Lady Bird Lake is planned to carry the line into the Downtown Transit Tunnel.^[7]

Stations are listed south to north, from Austin–Bergstrom International Airport to the North Lamar Transit Center:

Station	Parking	Rail connections	Bus connections	Nearby points of interest
Airport	Yes		CapMetro Bus 20	Austin–Bergstrom International Airport
Metro Center[8]	No		CapMetro Bus 271	Austin Airport Hotels
Montopolis	No		CapMetro Bus 20	Montopolis Park, Tokyo Electron
Faro	No		CapMetro Bus 20, 310	Austin Public Library, Riverside Golf Course
Riverside	Yes		CapMetro Bus 20, 300, 483	Park Greene Shopping Center
Lakeshore	Yes		CapMetro Bus 7, 20, 483	Oracle Corporation
Travis Heights	No		CapMetro Bus 7, 20, 483, 935, 987	Austin Housing Authority, Norwood Park
Waterfront[8]	No		CapMetro Bus 7, 20, 483	South Congress, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin American-Statesman, Lady Bird Lake
Rainey/MACC[9]	No		CapMetro Bus 17	Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center
Convention Center/Brush Square[9]	No	Red Line	CapMetro Bus 451 CapMetro Rapid Gold Line	Austin Convention Center, Downtown Austin, Rainey Street
Congress Avenue[9]	No
Republic Square[9]	No	Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801, 803, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 105, 111, 171, 980, 981, 985	Republic Square, Sixth Street, Texas State Board of Nursing, United States Federal Court
Government Center / Capitol West	No	Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801, 803 CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 985	Wooldridge Square Park, Austin Public Library, Travis County Civil Courthouse. Texas State Capitol, Travis County Adult Probation, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services
UT/West Mall	No	Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801, 803 CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 640, 982, 990	University of Texas at Austin, Peter T. Flawn Academic Center, Goldsmith Hall, Sutton Hall, Battle Hall, Parlin Hall, Rainey Hall, Harry Ransom Center, West Campus
Hemphill Park	No	Orange Line	CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 642	University of Texas at Austin, Phi Gamma Delta, Scottish Rite Dormitory
Hyde Park	No	Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801, 803 CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 335	Hyde Park, Austin State Hospital, Central Market, Heart Hospital of Austin
Triangle	Yes	Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 345, 656, 990	Hyde Park, The Triangle, Texas Facilities Commission, UT Intramural Fields, UT Microfarm, The Triangle Park
Koenig	No	Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 337	Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Highway Patrol, McCallum High School
Crestview	No	Red Line   Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 7, 300, 324, 350	Crestview station, Midtown Commons, Texas DPS Credit Union, Black Star Co-op
North Lamar Transit Center	Yes	Orange Line	CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 323, 350, 383	Anderson Square Shopping Center

References

1. Sanders, Austin (April 26, 2022). "What Kind of Rail Bridge Will Austin Build Across Lady Bird Lake?". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
2. Ionescu, Diana (July 8, 2022). "A Look at Austin's Proposed Subway Stations". Planetizen. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
3. Clark-Madison, Mike (September 25, 2020). "From Light Rail to a Downtown Tunnel: The Parts of Project Connect". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
4. Wilson, Mark D. "Cap Metro unveils new vision for Project Connect - News - Austin American-Statesman - Austin, TX". Statesman.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
5. Craver, Jack (October 11, 2018). "Project Connect: Cap Metro insists everything is on the table - Austin MonitorAustin Monitor". Austinmonitor.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
6. Claiborne, Casey (April 3, 2019). "Cap Metro's 'Orange', 'Blue' Lines could be very different types of transit for Austin". FOX 7 Austin. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
7. Bernier, Nathan (December 9, 2021). "Should buses be allowed on a new light-rail bridge over Lady Bird Lake?". Austin Monitor. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
8. Rahman, Tahera (July 27, 2021). "Capital Metro shares details on rail lines that will connect several Austin areas to airport". NBC. KXAN. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
9. Bernier, Nathan (July 16, 2021). "Here's What Austin's Underground Light Rail Could Look Like". NPR. KUT 90.5. Retrieved December 13, 2021.

External links

• Map and fact sheet A Archived November 11, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• Fact sheet B Archived November 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• Project Connect (official website)