McKalla Station at Q2 makes grand debut for Austin FC season opener

Austin (KXAN) — Austin FC, City of Austin and CapMetro leaders celebrated the grand opening of McKalla Station at Q2 stadium Saturday morning.

CapMetro, the City of Austin, and Austin Transit Partnership said the new regional transit station is part of Project Connect, an ongoing project to improve mobility across the city.

The McKalla Station at Q2 is right outside the stadium in the North Burnet area. The station aims to streamline transit to and from the stadium on game days and improve regional transit.

"We are today in a transformational moment. We're allowing our fans to be right at our doorstep, so literally a doorstep to doorstep opportunity for our fans," said Austin FC President Andy Loughnane.

The McKalla Station is the newest stop to be added to CapMetro's Red Line, which extends from Leander to Downtown Austin. Just yards away from Q2, it is now the closest rail station to Austin FC's stadium.

Austin FC fans Sarah and Jeroen Naus rode the train to McKalla station. They said the train was well-packed with fans looking to hang around breweries before the game.

The couple said they look forward to using the station in the future especially in warmer months.

"We usually take the train to Kramer. It's usually pretty brutal when it's really hot and you have to walk," Jeroen said.

But minutes prior to Saturday's game, CapMetro posted an apology to fans who experienced delays in the new service.

"The trains were packed tonight & for some of y’all we didn’t come through as planned," the post reads, "We’re working hard to get everyone to the match as quickly as we can & we’ll do the same to get everyone home tonight."