(Part of a) Mission Accomplished

Those of you who read Track Twenty-Nine know that it's my goal to ride every rail transit system in America.

I've been slowly checking them off my list, and last week, I accomplished a part of the larger mission. Last Monday, when I stepped onto a Cleveland Red Line train at Hopkins Airport, I completed the task of riding every heavy rail system in America - all 13 of them.


Looking back, 13 seems like such a small number. But the systems, of course, are scattered widely across the country.

My trip to Cleveland and St. Louis also netted me two more light rail systems. That means I'm painfully close to completing the "big three" - heavy rail, light rail, and commuter rail.

I only have 5 light rail systems left to ride - Buffalo, Denver, Houston Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. Norfolk is planning to open their Tide LRT this year, though a concrete date has not been set.

In the commuter rail category, I have only 4 systems left - Albuquerque, Austin, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City. In Texas, the Denton-Dallas "A-Train" commuter rail is also scheduled to open this year.