Houston METRORAIL goes the extra mile, posts ridership records during Super Bowl LI
February 16, 2017
News
Super Bowl LI in Houston marked the first time that the National Football League champion was determined in overtime. The city’s light-rail line went the extra distance as well.
METRORAIL broke ridership records over the extended Super Bowl LI celebration. More than 700,000 boardings during the nine-day period were tallied on METRORail and METRO special shuttle buses, according to the transit agency.
Four of the five highest single-day ridership totals in METRORail’s history occurred Wednesday, Feb. 1, through Saturday, Feb. 4. Approximately 109,500 Saturday boardings set a new one-day rail record.
“The feedback we have received has been tremendous,” said METRO Board Chair Carrin Patman. “So many have called and messaged about their positive experiences using METRO over these past several days.”
METRO’s new Green and Purple lines saw three straight days of highest single-day ridership.
“This effort was more than two years in the planning and to see the community embrace and rely on our services in such a big way is extremely rewarding,” said METRO President & CEO Tom Lambert. “Our expanded transportation network has grown rapidly in the last three years, and METRO’s dedicated staff proved we can deliver when it’s time for a world-class event and every day.”
Special METRO shuttles also helped people reach the largest Super Bowl events with an estimated 26,700 boardings. That figure combined with 680,100 boardings on METRORail totals 706,800 on METRO’s Super Bowl Connection service.
Spring is when large-scale model railroaders with their green thumbs plant and prune colorful foliage grown nearly to scale. In some areas, maintaining outdoor layouts is quite challenging because of changing weather. Nancy Norris, an author who builds garden railroads professionally, says some plant varieties have become more difficult to grow in certain Hardiness Zones. In some cases it means garden railroaders having to put more emphasis on growing native plants rather than relying on varieties more susceptible to extreme conditions. She recommends new gardeners consult with their local nurseries for the best choices for an outdoor layout. Norris also has a few recommendations of her own.
Sweeping tariffs imposed on goods imported into the United States are stirring model railroad manufacturers. As a result, model railroading and other hobbies will cost more. In February the U.S. applied a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China, and the tax has since escalated. Suppliers – including Athearn, InterMountain Railway Co., Broadway Limited, Rapido Trains and ScaleTrains – have been putting dealers and customers on notice that prices will increase tariffs are implemented.
The first rule of railroading is “expect movement on any track at any time in any direction.” This may seem like an overabundance of caution, but railroading is a dangerous sport. Always expect a train when you’re around the tracks. The second rule of railroading is that there is an exception to every rule. The North American freight car fleet in 2023 consisted of 2.03 million rail cars, according to Railinc’s Umler Equipment Index. Rail car fleet management — how empty cars get dispatched to move to their next loading point — is an ever-moving process and often requires fleet car managers to be nimble.
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