# Orange Line (CapMetro)

The Orange Line is a proposed north-south light rail line that will serve the central spine of Austin from North Lamar to Stassney Lane. It is in the planning stages as a part of CapMetro's Project Connect. It is estimated to begin revenue service as early as 2029.

## History

A contract for preliminary engineering work along the line was approved on March 20, 2019. In 2020, the planned route was truncated in length to reduce construction costs, with bus bridges providing connectivity through the rest of the corridor. Potential future phases may extend the line north to Tech Ridge and south to Slaughter as initially envisioned — those alignments are expected to be included in National Environmental Policy Act processing to allow for conversion to light rail in the future.

## Route

The Orange Line is 20 miles (32 km) long and will run in its own dedicated transitway, including the Downtown Transit Tunnel, which will allow it to bypass the traffic that plagues the corridor it follows. The Orange Line will operate from North Lamar Transit Center to Stassney & Congress, and will follow the current route of the CapMetro Rapid 801 or a similar alignment. It is planned to run along The Drag.
Future extensions to the line would feature stations at Tech Ridge, Parmer, Braker, Rundberg, William Cannon, and Slaughter.

### Stations

Stations are listed north to south.
| Station name | Parking | Rail connections | Bus connections | Nearby points of interest |
| North Lamar Transit Center | Yes | Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 323, 350, 383 | Anderson Square Shopping Center |
| Crestview | No | Red Line Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 7, 300, 324, 350 | Crestview station, Midtown Commons, Texas DPS Credit Union, Black Star Co-op |
| Koenig | | Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 337 | Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Highway Patrol, McCallum High School |
| Triangle | Yes | Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801 CapMetro Bus 1, 345, 656, 990 | Hyde Park, The Triangle, Texas Facilities Commission, UT Intramural Fields, UT Microfarm, The Triangle Park |
| Hyde Park | | Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801, 803 CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 335 | Hyde Park, Austin State Hospital, Central Market, Heart Hospital of Austin |
| Hemphill Park | | Blue Line | CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 642 | University of Texas at Austin, Phi Gamma Delta, Scottish Rite Dormitory |
| UT/West Mall | | Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801, 803 CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 640, 982, 990 | University of Texas at Austin, Peter T. Flawn Academic Center, Goldsmith Hall, Sutton Hall, Battle Hall, Parlin Hall, Rainey Hall, Harry Ransom Center |
| Government Center / Capitol West | | Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801, 803 CapMetro Bus 1, 3, 19, 20, 105, 985 | Wooldridge Square Park, Austin Public Library, Travis County Civil Courthouse, Texas State Capitol, Travis County Adult Probation, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services |
| Republic Square | | Blue Line | CapMetro Rapid 801, 803, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 105, 111, 171, 980, 981, 985 | City Hall, Republic Square, Sixth Street, Texas State Board of Nursing, United States Federal Court |
| Auditorium Shores | | | CapMetro Rapid 801, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 1, 7, 20, 142, 935 | Auditorium Shores, Lady Bird Lake, Long Center for the Performing Arts |
| SoCo | | | CapMetro Rapid 801, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 1 | South Congress, Texas School for the Deaf |
| Oltorf | | | CapMetro Rapid 801, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 1, 300 | South Congress H-E-B, St. Ignatius Martyr School, William B. Travis High School |
| St. Edward's | | | CapMetro Rapid 801, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 1 | Saint Edward's University |
| South Congress Transit Center | Yes | | CapMetro Rapid 801, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 1, 310, 315 | St David's South Hospital, St. Elmo District |
| Stassney | | | CapMetro Rapid 801, Gold Line CapMetro Bus 1, 311 | Williamson Creek Greenbelt |