Gold Line (Capital Metro)

The Gold Line is a proposed transitway for connecting North Central Austin and the Downtown's Eastside to South Austin. It is in the planning stages as a part of Capital Metro's Project Connect. According to the plan, the line will be initially be operated as a bus rapid transit line prior to future conversion to light rail.[1] It is estimated to open in 2024.[1]

Gold Line
Overview
StatusIn planning
LocaleAustin, Texas
TerminiHighland station
South Congress Transit Center
Stations15
Service
TypeBus rapid transit
SystemCapital MetroRapid
Operator(s)Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Line length9.5 mi (15.3 km)
Route diagram
     Red Line to Leander
 Highland
 Clarkson
Hancock
 St. David's
 UT East
 Medical School
 Capitol East
 Trinity
 Downtown
     Blue Line to AUS
Republic Square
     Orange Line to North Lamar
Colorado River
 Auditorium Shores
 SoCo
 Oltorf
 St. Edward's
US 290 / SH 71
 South Congress Transit Center
     Orange Line to Stassney

The initial line is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) in length and would operate from ACC Highland to the South Congress Transit Center park-and-ride, and will travel on Airport, Red River, San Jacinto/Trinity, 7th/8th, Neches/Red River, 4th, Riverside, and South Congress. Stations will be ACC Highland, Clarkson, Hancock, St. David's, UT East, Medical School, Capitol East, Trinity, Downtown Station (where transfer to the Red, Green, or Blue Lines will be possible), Republic Square, Auditorium Shores, SoCo (South Congress), Oltorf, St. Edward's, and South Congress Transit Center.[2]

The line was originally envisioned as the northern section of the Blue Line light rail, which was part of the city's failed 2014 rail plan.[1] The line was there after planned to be built as lower-cost bus rapid transit. The project shifted planning in May 2020 to again construct it as light rail, citing a demographic that showed an increased projected ridership along the route.[3] In July 2020, to lower construction costs in response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the line was reverted be operated as a bus service.[4]

References
  1. Clark-Madison, Mike (25 September 2020). "From Light Rail to a Downtown Tunnel: The Parts of Project Connect". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. (PDF) https://capmetro.org/uploadedFiles/New2016/ProjectConnect_Vision/Home/PC_ServiceLevelMap.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. Salazar, Daniel (May 11, 2020). "Third train line proposed in Project Connect mass transit plan for Austin". Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  4. Willson, Bill (23 July 2020). "Part of Cap Metro's show-stopping transit plan gets the hook". RT&S. Retrieved 27 July 2020.


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