07:37 PM CST on Sunday, December 28, 2003

Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) -- Houston Mayor Lee Brown will spend his last day in office out on a rail.

On New Year's Day he is scheduled to join passengers for their first public ride on Houston's new 71/2-mile light rail line stretching from downtown to Reliant Stadium. Brown, who was barred by term limits from seeking a fourth two-year term and will step down to make way for successor Bill White, will cut the ribbon for the grand opening on the $324 million line, which began construction in 2001.

The Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority has been testing the new line, and four drivers have been cited for making illegal turns or failing to yield when their vehicles collided with the train. No one was hurt.

"We've been out there running for months now, in daytime and nighttime," Rich Krisak, senior director of rail operations, told the Houston Chronicle in Sunday's editions. "It's been very good until these recent accidents."

The line's debut comes after of a successful ballot proposition last month that authorizes up to $640 million in revenue bonds to start expanding the rail system. Voters -- 52 percent in favor, 48 percent against -- approved the transit authority's proposal to start building 22 miles of rail.

The new tracks are part of a master $11.9 billion plan to build 73 miles of rail by 2025. The line that will start carrying passengers Thursday was built entirely with transit authority funds, but each phase of expansion would need voter approval if new debt is required.

The line will feature trains that have a top speed of 66 mph and must follow the same speed limits as vehicles on city streets.

KHOU-TV Houston's light rail is ready for its debut.

Light rail differs from the heavier commuter rails in other cities, such as Chicago or New York, in that the trains are powered by overhead wires and run on tracks usually embedded in city streets. More expensive heavy or commuter rail is underground or on elevated tracks.

The new line isn't expected to tackle traffic congestion, long travel times and pollution in the nation's fourth-largest city. The line is expected to carry 33,000 riders one-way per day, or 16,500 people making round trips -- less than 1 percent of Houston's population.

Critics who fought to defeat the expansion proposal dismissed the line as an expensive toy that takes money from freeway expansion in the automobile-loving city.

But supporters said the line would help city leaders rethink the Houston area's transportation system. They said if new apartments, townhomes and shopping centers pop up along the tracks, drivers who work along the line could be inspired to leave their wheels at home.

Nineteen U.S. cities operate light rail systems and 13 more are developing them.