Veolia wins Houston light rail project contract

Veolia Transportation was awarded an operations and maintenance contract by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Metro) for its light rail expansion project in Houston, Texas. The work will take place through a joint venture company, Houston Operation and Maintenance LLC (HOM), an entity owned by Veolia Transportation and Parsons.

Under the terms of the contract, Veolia Transportation, working through HOM, will initially be responsible for planning and development services and advising in the planning, design and integration of the rail lines, systems and maintenance facilities, and the light rail vehicles for the project. Once revenue service begins, Veolia Transportation will be responsible for all aspects of the new light rail network for an initial period of five years which can be extended up to 35 years. This responsibility includes maintaining four new corridors totaling approximately 20 miles of light rail, 32 stations, storage and inspection facilities, right-of-way and systems maintenance, dispatch, as well as operation and maintenance of 103 light rail, 100 percent low-floor vehicles.

The design-build portion of the project will be completed by Houston Rapid Transit (HRT), a Parsons-led joint venture that includes Granite Construction Co., Kiewit Texas Construction L.P., and Stacy and Witbeck Inc. The light rail vehicles will be manufactured by Houston LRV 100 LLC, an entity owned by CAF USA Inc. and Parsons.