METRO Breaks Ground on New Facility to Enhance Rail Operations

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston METRO), TX, has broken ground on its new, 30,000 square-foot Maintenance of Way (MOW) facility, a key project aimed at enhancing efficiency, safety, and reliability across the METRORail system.

Located near the agency’s Burnett Transit Center in Houston, the MOW facility will serve as a centralized hub for maintaining and making repairs along the Red, Green, and Purple lines. It is designed to improve incident response times, streamline operations, and provide the resources and materials needed to ensure a smooth experience for passengers.

“As part of our METRONow plan for 2025 and beyond, we are working to increase our on-time performance and reliability,” said MMETRO Board First Vice Chair Bob Fry. “Our goal through METRONow is to earn our customers’ trust each day with improvements and service upgrades that will improve their experience and make them excited to choose METRO.”

The facility will include a 3,500-square-foot maintenance shop, storage warehouse and laydown yard, surface parking, and storm water detention infrastructure. In addition to the new building, the project will add sidewalks, street enhancements, and improved drainage on near streets.

The MOW facility is the last project associated with the extension of the Red Line and is expected to be completed in July 2026.