8 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 10/18/12:

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recently kicked off a two-year study to determine the possibility of expanding passenger-rail service between Oklahoma City, Okla., and south Texas.

Full story

[KevinKorell]

The study will examine the best options for deploying passenger trains to connect Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio, Texas

Via connections between the Heartland Flyer and Texas Eagle in Fort Worth, one can go from Oklahoma City and the above cities in Texas now. I'd rather see them find a way to return Amtrak service to Houston from the north. That city deserves better than its thrice-weekly east-west Sunset Limited.

[KevinKorell]

Dallas, TX Morning News, 3/14/13:

Yesterday, the Federal Railroad Administration made it official with this entry into the Federal Register: It now wants to know how you feel about a proposed passenger-rail line linking Oklahoma City with Brownsville, or thereabouts, with Dallas and Fort Worth among the proposed stops.

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 4/5/13:

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is soliciting public comments through April 26 on a range of proposed passenger-rail service options in an 850-mile corridor between Oklahoma City and south Texas.

More

[EvergreenRailfan]

I know it is more complicated, and it is high/higher speed rail being planned, but I was thinking, within Texas, they once had a network, with just one of the railroads in the state, that covered much of the state with passenger trains, Missouri Pacific's Texas Eagle. I know that that probably could not be brought back. I would settle for Houston service being restored, though. Such a big city, with only a tri-weekly service.

[KevinKorell]

Tulsa, OK World, 1/5/14:

Amtrak's Heartland Flyer between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, has boarded more than a million passengers since it started operation nearly 15 years ago — and service to Tulsa was supposedly not far behind.

Story continues

A Tulsa connection seems like an obvious addition that could eventually connect passenger rail service to Kansas City and the rest of the upper Midwest. Amtrak passengers wishing to travel from Oklahoma City to Chicago first have to head east to Little Rock, Ark., before heading north through St. Louis.

Little Rock? You have to go south to Fort Worth, and then yes later aboard the Texas Eagle you pass through Little Rock.

[Sloan]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled two public meetings in Oklahoma on possible passenger rail routes.

The meetings will be Monday at 6 p.m. at the Metro Tech Center in Oklahoma City and Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Ardmore Train Station in Ardmore.

http://www.newschann...la-to-texas-set

[CNJRoss]

USDOT/FRA news release:

 

U.S Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC  20590
www.transportation.gov/briefingroom

 

Monday, July 18, 2016
 

 

FRA and TxDOT Outline Passenger Rail Options Between Oklahoma City and Southern Texas, Seek Public Input

 

Public hearings and comment period on 10 proposed options to begin

 

 

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have released 10 service and route options for new and improved conventional and high-speed passenger rail service connecting Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and South Texas.  The options are evaluated in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).  

 

“This corridor is home to major financial, energy, and education centers that people rely on every day,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.  “Providing efficient, more reliable, and faster higher-speed passenger rail options to move between cities is crucial for the economy and the population to thrive.  I encourage those along the I-35 corridor to participate in the comment and public hearing opportunities so that they are able to learn more and share their input.”

 

During a 45-day public comment period, FRA and TxDOT will take comments on the 10 options and the seven recommended preferred options that the two agencies identified.  Four public hearings will also be held to give residents a chance to learn about the Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Study, understand how their communities may be affected, and provide comments.

 

Current passenger rail service along the Interstate 35 (I-35) corridor includes three intercity Amtrak services from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth (Heartland Flyer), Fort Worth to San Antonio (Texas Eagle), and Los Angeles to New Orleans through San Antonio (Sunset Limited).

 

The DEIS addresses the relationships of the major regional markets within the Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Program corridor in three geographic sections, and preferred alternatives are recommended for each geographic section separately.  The three sections of study are:

• Northern Section: Edmond, Oklahoma, to Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas
• Central Section: Dallas and Fort Worth to San Antonio
• Southern Section: San Antonio to south Texas (Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Laredo, and the Rio Grande Valley)

More than 10 million people currently live along the 850-mile corridor, which is expected to grow by 39 percent in Texas and 25 percent in Oklahoma City by 2035.  As a state with some of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation, spread out over hundreds of miles, Texas is now in high demand for alternative modes of transportation.  Since the majority of the state’s population is centered in the eastern half of state, along I-35 stretching into Oklahoma City, the highways have experienced increased congestion.

 

“More passenger rail service will help relieve already congested roads along the I-35 corridor and help this region manage the significant population growth on the way,” said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg.  “I encourage everyone to provide feedback on the 10 options that FRA and the Texas DOT have presented to continue moving this effort forward.”

 

In fiscal year 2012, FRA awarded a $5.6 million grant to TxDOT to fund a study of new and improved passenger rail service to meet future intercity travel demand, improve rail facilities, reduce travel times, and improve connections with regional public transit services as an alternative to bus, plane, and private auto travel.  The Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Study evaluates routes and types of service for passenger rail service between Oklahoma City, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and South Texas.

 

More information about the Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Study can be found here.  The Final EIS is projected to be released by early 2017. 

 

Three hearings will be held in Laredo, Austin, and Arlington.  The hearing times and locations are below:

 

Dates and Locations

August 9: Laredo - TxDOT Laredo District Office
August 10: Austin - TxDOT Austin District Office
August 11: Arlington - North Central Texas Council of Governments 

 

 Times
5:30 p.m.: Open House 
6:00 p.m.: Presentation

[CNJRoss]

Metro Magazine, 7/19:

FRA, TxDOT outline rail options between OKC, South Texas

 

 

 

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have released 10 service and route options for new and improved conventional and high-speed passenger rail service connecting Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and South Texas. The options are evaluated in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

 

“This corridor is home to major financial, energy, and education centers that people rely on every day,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Providing efficient, more reliable, and faster higher-speed passenger rail options to move between cities is crucial for the economy and the population to thrive. I encourage those along the I-35 corridor to participate in the comment and public hearing opportunities so that they are able to learn more and share their input.”

 

During a 45-day public comment period, FRA and TxDOT will take comments on the 10 options and the seven recommended preferred options that the two agencies identified. Four public hearings will also be held to give residents a chance to learn about the Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Study, understand how their communities may be affected and provide comments.

 

 

 

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