Client: Onsite Rail Contractor
Date: 2002
METRORail is the 7.5-mile (12.1 km) light rail line located in Houston, Texas. It is the second major light rail service in Texas following the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. With an approximate daily ridership of 39,500, the METRORail ranks as the eleventh most-traveled light rail system in the United States, with the second highest ridership per track mile.
The arrival of METRORail came 64 years after the previous streetcar system was shut down, which left Houston as the largest city in the United States without a rail system since 1990 when the Blue Line opened in Los Angeles. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO for short.
Element personnel performed nondestructive testing of flash butt and thermite welded rail including UT, MT and VT. The team also provided testing per approved procedure and test reports as required.