A briefing sheet reviewed by KUT provides a high-level overview of five light-rail alternatives covering less distance than the pitched to voters ahead of the 2020 vote.

Source: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/03/texas-legislature-could-derail-austins-transit-expansion/

But the two sides appear headed for a legal clash that could drag out the Project Connect timeline and potentially delay the federal funding needed to pay for up to half the cost of phase one of Austin’s light-rail plan.

Source: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/05/austins-light-rail-plans-set-to-advance-after-narrowly-dodging-texas-sized-wrecking-ball/

From my limited vantage point in Minneapolis' far northwest corner, the southwest light-rail line has been contentious in part because the Met Council seems to have been habitually tone-deaf regarding local concerns and cost overruns.

Source: https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2023/10/informed-musings-on-the-idea-of-separating-metro-transit-from-the-met-council/

Meanwhile, light-rail VRM fell from 2.16 million in 2019 to 1.36 million in 2022 — a decline of 36.5%.

Source: https://triblive.com/opinion/colin-mcnickle-covid-bailout-dollars-enabled-transit-inefficiencies/

Metro is increasing frequencies on B (Red) and D (Purple) subway lines that run in central LA, Hollywood and the western San Fernando Valley – and tentatively on all light-rail lines.

Source: https://www.dailynews.com/2023/09/09/more-frequent-train-service-coming-to-metro-subways-and-possibly-to-light-rail-lines/

NDP Leader Rachel Notley was at a Calgary rally last night to promise $1.2 billion in spending on infrastructure in the city, including hospitals, schools and light-rail transit lines.

Source: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/alberta-election-campaign-continues-after-minor-drama-at-danielle-smith-announcement-1.6395635

REM users who need the elevator say they cannot rely on the light-rail system because elevators are often out of order.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-rem-elevator-breakdowns-1.6992696?cmp=rss

The proposed easterly extension of a Metro light-rail line from East Los Angeles to Montebello got a boost from the state transportation agency earlier this week.

Source: https://www.dailynews.com/2023/04/26/metro-l-line-eastside-light-rail-extension-to-montebello-gets-35-million-grant-from-state/

This elevator at the Île-des-Sœurs REM station has been broken six times since the light-rail system opened.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-rem-elevator-breakdowns-1.6992696?cmp=rss

“This town got bamboozled,” said Gerald Daugherty, a former Travis County commissioner who has spent decades fighting Austin’s light-rail initiatives, including the most recent one that increased city property taxes by 20 percent.

Source: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/03/texas-legislature-could-derail-austins-transit-expansion/