Orange Line (Capital Metro)

The Orange Line is a proposed north-south light rail line that will serve the central spine of Austin from North Lamar to Stassney Lane. It is in the planning stages as a part of Capital Metro's Project Connect. It is estimated to begin revenue service as early as 2028.[1]

Orange Line
Overview
Status	In planning
Locale	Austin, Texas
Termini	North Lamar Transit Center (future extension to Tech Ridge) Stassney (future extension to Slaughter)
Stations	16
Service
Type	Light rail
System	Capital MetroRail
Operator(s)	Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
History
Planned opening	2028
Technical
Line length	20 mi (32 km)
Route diagram North Lamar Transit Center      US 183 Crestview      Red Line Koenig Triangle Hyde Park Hemphill Park UT/West Mall Capitol West Government Center Republic Square      Blue Line to Austin–Bergstrom Colorado River Auditorium Shores SoCo Oltorf St. Edward's US 290 / SH 71 South Congress Transit Center Stassney

History

A contract for preliminary engineering work along the line was approved on March 20, 2019.[2] In 2020, the planned route was truncated in length to reduce construction costs, with bus bridges providing connectivity through the rest of the corridor.[3] Potential future phases may extend the line north to Tech Ridge and south to Slaughter as initially envisioned — those alignments are expected to be included in National Environmental Policy Act processing to allow for conversion to light rail in the future.[1]

Route

The Orange Line is 20 miles (32 km) long and will run in its own dedicated transitway, which will allow it to bypass the traffic that plagues the corridor it follows. The Orange Line will operate from North Lamar Transit Center to Stassney & Congress, and will follow the current route of the Capital MetroRapid 801 or a similar alignment.

Future extensions to the line would feature stations at Tech Ridge, Parmer, Braker, Rundberg, William Cannon, and Slaughter.

Stations

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

Stations are listed north to south.[4][2][5]

Station name	Parking	Rail connections	Bus connections	Nearby points of interest
North Lamar Transit Center		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801 MetroBus 1, 323, 350, 383	Anderson Square Shopping Center
Crestview	No	Red Line   Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801 MetroBus 1, 7, 300, 324, 350	Crestview Station, Midtown Commons, Texas DPS Credit Union, Black Star Co-op
Koenig		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801 MetroBus 1, 337	Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Highway Patrol, McCallum High School
Triangle		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801 MetroBus 1, 345, 656, 990	Hyde Park, The Triangle, Texas Facilities Commission, UT Intramural Fields, UT Microfarm, The Triangle Park
Hyde Park		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801, 803 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 335	Hyde Park, Austin State Hospital, Central Market, Heart Hospital of Austin
Hemphill Park		Blue Line	MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 642	University of Texas at Austin, Phi Gamma Delta, Scottish Rite Dormitory
UT/West Mall		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801, 803 MetroBus 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
Capitol West		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801, 803 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 985	Texas State Capitol, Travis County Adult Probation, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services
Government Center		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801, 803 MetroBus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 985	Wooldridge Square Park, Austin Public Library, Travis County Civil Courthouse
Republic Square		Blue Line	Capital MetroRapid 801, 803, Gold Line MetroBus 105, 111, 171, 980, 981, 985	City Hall, Republic Square, Sixth Street, Texas State Board of Nursing, United States Federal Court
Auditorium Shores			Capital MetroRapid 801, Gold Line MetroBus 1, 7, 20, 142, 935	Auditorium Shores, Lady Bird Lake, Long Center for the Performing Arts
SoCo			Capital MetroRapid 801, Gold Line MetroBus 1	South Congress, Texas School for the Deaf
Oltorf			Capital MetroRapid 801, Gold Line MetroBus 1, 300	South Congress H-E-B, St. Ignatius Martyr School, William B. Travis High School
St. Edward's			Capital MetroRapid 801, Gold Line MetroBus 1	Saint Edward's University
South Congress Transit Center			Capital MetroRapid 801, Gold Line MetroBus 1, 310, 315	St David's South Hospital, St. Elmo District
Stassney			Capital MetroRapid 801, Gold Line MetroBus 1, 311	Williamson Creek Greenbelt

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. Cicale, Nicholas (March 25, 2019). "Capital Metro approves contract for Orange Line preliminary engineering work". Community Impact. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
3. Willson, Bill (23 July 2020). "Part of Cap Metro's show-stopping transit plan gets the hook". RT&S. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
4. "Metro Project Connect Initial Investment System Plan" (PDF). 30 July 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
5. Marloff, Sarah (April 12, 2019). "Project Connect Unveils Cap Metro's Orange Line". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved November 4, 2020.

External links

• Map and fact sheet A
• Fact sheet B
• Project Connect (official website)