After five years, Central Texas is getting closer to finally having a commuter rail, even though it's more than one year behind its original schedule.
"Comparatively, we're pretty much like the rest of the country. It takes time to build a rail system, but once you get it going, what we've seen in other cities is that it tends to expand in much more rapid pace," Austin Mayor Pro Tem and Capital Metro Board Member Mike Martinez said.
Martinez along with other council members and Mayor Lee Leffingwell all recently returned from a trip to Phoenix, Arizona, where they were able to look at Phoenix's $1-billion, 20-mile rail line that took 10 years to build.
Though Austin's MetroRail may not take 10 years, many wonder how long it will take.
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MetroRail
News 8's Reagan Hackleman explains what it'll take to get Austin's Red Line back on track.
 
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"No one is really targeting a date. We're just doing everything we can to get it up as quick as possible, ensuring that it's safe for everyone," Martinez said.
Right now Cap Metro is busy trying to make 14 modifications to the system. Many of them need to be made before the federal government will give Capital Metro the all-clear.
Capital Metro said the modification will cost between $750,000 and $1 million to make the modifications needed to get the train up and running.
According to Capital Metro's Interim CEO Doug Allen, the total cost on taxpayers, during the year the train has been closed to the public, is not much.
"It really hasn't been a financial impact because we haven't opened yet," Allen said.
Still, Cap Metro hasn't been able to charge fares yet and does operate the trains constantly for testing.
"It is becoming pretty expensive right now. We need to get it open, so we can try and recover much of that revenue through fares," Martinez said.
It looks like that won't happen until at least the beginning of next year, but this time, no one is saying for sure.
