METRORapid University Line

Alarmed by the disruption to businesses along Main Street during the construction of the Main Street line, Richmond Avenue business owners formed a coalition in 2004 and met with METRO, urging the agency to move the route to Westheimer Road.[3] METRO countered the lessons it had learned while building the Main Street line would be applied to the construction of the University line, and further, the route had not yet been finalized; options included alignment along Westpark, Westheimer, or the Southwest Freeway.[3]

The homeowners of Afton Oaks opposed plans for the University Line to go through the subdivision

The homeowners of the upper-income Afton Oaks subdivision opposed a proposed expansion of the University Line through the neighborhood. Ultimately METRO revised the plans so that the line does not go through the neighborhood.[4][5]

An opinion was issued August 31, 2010, on an appeal made by Daphne Scarbrough, who owns a business on Richmond Avenue, on a lawsuit she raised May 23, 2007, regarding METRO's jurisdiction and its decision to align the rail down the center of Richmond. The appeal overruled all but one issue raised by Scarbrough (which it modified), upholding the original decision to give METRO jurisdiction on Richmond to lay the rails.[6]

In a 2007 Houston Chronicle questions and answers page about the proposed University Line, Daphne Scarbrough and Christof Spieler asked why METRO did not include a station to serve Gulfton, a community of apartment complexes. METRO responded, saying that the agency originally envisioned "more of an express service" in that area. However, the agency stated that it would examine the idea of including a Gulfton Station in the project scope.[7]

In 2010, Houston mayor Annise Parker delayed construction on the University Line in an effort to find a suitable funding source.[8][9]

However, the line has received some hope: METRO has reported to the local media outlets that it has received a federal Record of Decision, the final approval needed to design and/or construct the line.[10][11] It is reported in the Houston Chronicle that METRO anticipates $700 million in federal funding for this line.[11] While Go METRORail has no mention of this, METRO Solutions has posted a .pdf file of the letter from the FTA with all permission, and an inclusion of instructions to not pursue buying any light rail vehicles for this line (or for any other for that matter) until the investigation regarding the controversy over "Buy America" has concluded.[12]

In May 2016, the project had its federal funding eligibility revoked after a decade of inactivity.[13]

Under the METRONext "Moving Forward Plan", a superset of the proposed University METRORail line would be served by a new bus rapid transit (BRT) line under the METRORapid brand. A preliminary version of the superset "University Corridor" BRT line, 22 mi (35 km) long, would extend to Westchase Park & Ride in the west, pass through the stops proposed for the derelict light rail plan, and continue north past Eastwood Transit Center to Tidwell Transit Center.[14][15][16]

Additional BRT lines proposed under "Moving Forward" include:[17][18]

• "Interstate 45 North" from downtown to George Bush Intercontinental Airport via Greenspoint
• "Inner Katy Corridor" to Northwest Transit Center, connecting to METRORail Purple/Green line stations[19]
• "Uptown/Gulfton" extension of the Uptown Line south to Gulfton
• "West Houston Corridor" along Beltway 8 or Gessner Road between West Little York Park & Ride and Missouri City[20]