Leander continues to wait for MetroRail

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) - Leander commuters anxiously wait for MetroRail to finally start. Bus riders who regularly commute from Leander to Austin do not think it will happen anytime soon.

"I'm just waiting anxiously," said Pietro Cruz, a bus rider.

Leander bus riders are looking forward to getting the MetroRail on track and ready to roll.

Cruz lives in Leander, but works in Austin. One of the new MetroRail stops would be right in front of his work.

"I ended up losing my car and just going green ever since," said Cruz. "Now I'm counting the days to make it a little bit easier."

They are also a little skeptical on the start date.

"They were supposed to put it in two years ago," said Josh Stewart, Bus Rider. "I was really excited about it then. Now, if they ever get around to it, it will be nice I think"

Other bus riders agree.

"I don't think it's going to be all that much faster, but I don't look to see it starting for quite some time," said Ronald Adams, another bus rider.

"We set an artificial date, but we couldn't make that date," said John Cowman, City of Leander's Mayor. "It was unrealistic."

Cowman admits there has been quite a delay. But he thinks once MetroRail officially takes off, it will blaze a new trail for Austin and Leander commuters, making it easier for these two cities to connect.

"Leander is going to 260,000 people and with a commuter rail, we're basically building our city based on one car families," said Cowman. "We're starting it."

Once testing is completed, MetroRail would have nine stops from Leander to Austin. Cowman expects the commuter rail to be finished and ready for use sometime in the beginning of next year.