Supertrain Lives!

Admittedly, I love trains. I have ridden in private berths and in standard passenger cars, taken a fall colors route, and an overnight ride from Providence, RI to D.C. with the kids so they could have the experience. When I worked in Dallas I took DART rail into the city almost daily. When I travel, I want to see the country and clear the highways.

When I was in the Big Bend area, seeing an actual passenger train arrive and let off passengers in Alpine, TX, was a thrill. What good sense it makes, to arrive at a gorgeous natural area without having to drive through the congestion in cities, and not polluting our air any further.

There is no hell like trying to drive from North Texas through Dallas or Fort Worth to reach the areas south of here. We really need to take a look at alternate transportation just for travel around the state.

Hearing talk about returning Texas to rail service makes me just deliriously happy.

Could high-speed trains be back in Texas' future?

Visions of bullet trains – like the ones that danced in the heads of Dallas City Council members who toured China earlier this year – may seem a bit dreamy for the Lone Star State.

But as 2009 nears, this much is true: Talk of such passenger rail service, once thought of as forever dead in Texas, is back in vogue, both in Washington and Austin.

A number of signs point to possible success for rail advocates, who for years have been talking up the merits of so-called multimodal transportation planning, but to a mostly unreceptive audience among Texas transportation policymakers.

This month, the U.S. Department of Transportation called for proposals from states and businesses to develop any of 11 federally designated high-speed rail corridors. Proposals are expected across the country, and two of the specified routes run through Texas. One, the Gulf Coast Corridor, enters the state from the southeast and finds its terminus in Houston.

The other route comes in from the north, and runs through Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and more.

No proposals have been made to develop those corridors yet, but U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters was in New York City in recent weeks to urge investors to consider doing just that. The government's vision is to have private firms partner with state and federal governments to jointly develop the rail lines. Proposals are due by September 2009.

Texas ought to start moving if it wants to take advantage of the federal funds, said Peter LeCody of Texas Rail Advocates, a passenger-rail lobbying group. The federal government is promising an 80-20 match with local or state funds – a nearly unprecedented move for rail, which usually requires a 50 percent contribution from local sources.

"Texas is not on the horizon to take advantage of the recently authorized Railway Safety Act," he said, noting the law that has prompted the federal call for programs. "Other states are already planning for high-speed passenger rail corridors, and some have timetables in place to have intercity passenger rail service as early as 2012. Texas does not."
(snip)
The Texas Department of Transportation's executive director, Amadeo Saenz, disputed Mr. LeCody's assertions. He said the department is aware of the call for proposals and is working on a plan.

"If any of the other states are out ahead of us, I'd like to know about it," Mr. Saenz said.

If the department has a weak focus on rail, however, it may have good cause. It has never been allowed to spend money it collects from gasoline sales on rail programs. The Texas Constitution forbids it, though lawmakers have managed to find ways to divert about a half-billion dollars of the funds each year to other uses.

Mr. Saenz said he'd like to see that changed.

I heartily agree. Having a source from gas tax would be particularly rational in view of the congestion it could reduce. The Texas legislature isn't much known for its rational behavior, but when it comes to saving taxpayer money it does come under increasing pressures. We can't build enough roads for the traffic in our urban areas. We can reduce traffic, though, by spending on railroad development.

Besides, it would make Atrios so happy.