Hot Issues - News
Print This Page « Send to a friend «
Subscribe
e-Subscribe to News updates
Freight rail improvements could make way for Austin-San Antonio commuter-rail service
07/30/2008
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) today released two long awaited studies containing a visionary plan to reroute Union Pacific (UP) non-local freight trains in the Austin - San Antonio corridor.
The studies identify potential rail and roadway improvements including new grade overpasses in conjunction with crossing closures, improvements to the rail infrastructure in San Antonio as well as proposed bypass routes outside the metropolitan area for UP non-local freight. These improvements total up to $3.8 billion.
Any of the proposed new routes between Austin and San Antonio would allow for the implementation of commuter rail service in the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Round Rock on the existing rail lines. TxDOT will unveil the study results tomorrow at a San Antonio Mobility Coalition (SAMCo) rail luncheon.
The two studies, the Central Texas Rail Relocation Study and the San Antonio Region Freight Study provide an analysis of the existing rail network in the central Texas region. The studies used that analysis to identify improvements to the existing system as well as alternative bypass routes that would reroute most UP freight trains between Austin and San Antonio that do not serve local customers. The reports quantify both the public and private benefits for the improvements.
"A commuter rail line along the San Antonio-Austin corridor would connect the two most dynamic cities in the state of Texas and allow the two regions to play off the strengths of each other," Bexar County Judge Nelson W. Wolff said. "Such a connection would strengthen the economic opportunities for central and south Texas."
The reports will be provided to the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District (ASA-ICRD) and other local and regional stakeholders and planning entities to assist them in developing plans for improving freight services and implementing commuter rail services in the corridor as desired by the ASA-ICRD. The studies were developed with data and input from UP, and they support further study of the bypass routes.
While the rerouting of trains is further studied, TxDOT has partnered with Amtrak to study the feasibility of providing additional intercity passenger rail service between Round Rock and San Antonio along the existing tracks in the same manner Amtrak travels now. This could include upgrades to the existing infrastructure providing public benefits such as improving safety and air quality and alleviating congestion.
Copies of the studies will be available through TxDOTs website at www.txdot.gov.
