METRORail

This article is about the METRORail light rail system in Houston, Texas. For other uses, see Metrorail.

METRORail
Southbound two-car Siemens S70/H1 METRORail train on Red Line, departing downtown Houston (2007)
Overview
Owner	Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County
Locale	Houston, Texas
Transit type	Light rail/Tram
Number of lines	3 (2 planned)
Number of stations	39
Daily ridership	37,700 (weekdays, Q2 2026)
Annual ridership	12,651,100 (2025)
Chief executive	Thomas Jasien (Interim)
Headquarters	Lee P. Brown METRO Administration Building 1900 Main Street
Operation
Began operation	January 1, 2004 (2004-01-01)
Character	At grade, with street running sections
Number of vehicles	51 Siemens S70 39 CAF Urbos LRV 14 Siemens S700
Train length	Two cars
Headway	6–20 minutes
Technical
System length	22.7 mi (36.5 km) (2012) (planned 24.4 mi (39.3 km))
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Minimum radius of curvature	350 ft (107 m)
Electrification	Overhead line, 600–750 V DC
System map  Northline Transit Center/HCC  Melbourne/North Lindale Lindale Park Cavalcade Moody Park Fulton/North Central Quitman/Near Northside Burnett Transit Center UH–Downtown  Theater District  Preston Central Station Main Street Square Convention District Bell EaDo/Stadium Downtown Transit Center McGowen Coffee Plant/Second Ward Ensemble/HCC Lockwood/Eastwood Wheeler   Altic/Howard Hughes Museum District Cesar Chavez/67th Street Hermann Park/Rice University  Magnolia Park Transit Center  Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston Zoo Leeland/Third Ward Dryden/TMC Elgin/Third Ward Texas Medical Center Transit Center TSU/UH Athletics District Smith Lands UH South/University Oaks Stadium Park/Astrodome MacGregor Park/Martin Luther King Jr.  Fannin South   Palm Center Transit Center  Key Red Line Transit center Purple Line Station Green Line Transfer station Purple and Green lines All stations are accessible

METRORail is the 22.7-mile (36.5 km) light rail system in Houston, Texas, United States. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 12,651,100, or about 37,700 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2026. METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 10th most-traveled light rail system in the United States, and has the highest ridership per mile for light rail systems in the Southern US. METRORail is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO).