Texas Passenger Rail to Expand Under Biden Infrastructure Plan
Texas cities would be served more often by passenger rail in coming years if Congress approves an infrastructure plan proposed by President Joe Biden earlier this month.
The plan includes $80 billion to improve the nation’s passenger and freight rail network — about 4% of the proposed $2.25 trillion plan.
Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn commented, “President Biden’s infrastructure plan is what this nation has been waiting for… Amtrak has a bold vision to bring energy-efficient, world-class intercity rail service to up to 160 new communities across the nation.”
A proposed service map publicized by Amtrak indicates that the new funding would help it open a new route between Dallas and Houston, with a stop at Bryan-College Station.
“Bryan College Station is really overdue for getting other modes of transportation,” said Peter LeCody, president of Texas Rail Advocates. “The train is a very comfortable way to go. I applaud Amtrak for being very visionary in their plan.”
Service would also be enhanced on existing routes between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth; Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio; and Houston and San Antonio. Amtrak recently called its service along those routes “inadequate,” noting that trains arrived only infrequently and often in the middle of the night. LeCody commented, “Right now Texas rail passengers have few options to travel by train between our cities.”
LeCody added, “The dream of connecting the Texas Triangle of DFW-Austin-San Antonio-Houston were the majority of people live in the state has been on paper for a few decades. Now it’s time to turn plans into reality.”
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says the growing problems of traffic congestion and car pollution make rail an attractive investment: “Anyone who’s driven on I-35 has to know there’s a better way to go from city to city besides some of these roads.”
“You can’t build these roads wide enough to accommodate all the people who want to travel, especially as we come out of the pandemic, when you have existing rail infrastructure which can move thousands and thousands of people in an environmentally benign way,” he said.
A dozen long-distance Amtrak routes nationally were suspended or cut back during the pandemic, including the Texas Eagle running from Chicago to San Antonio via Dallas. In coming months, Amtrak plans to fully restore service along those routes using funding approved in the ‘American Rescue Plan’ passed by Congress in March.
The Texas Eagle will resume service May 24.
In Washington, Biden’s infrastructure plan has come under attack from Republicans who say that it includes too much spending that’s unrelated to infrastructure, such as $400 billion for senior care and community-based services.
Republican senators have put forward a counter-proposal that is about a quarter the size of Biden’s plan — $568 billion — including $20 billion for rail and $61 billion for public transit systems. That compares to $80 billion for rail and $85 billion for public transit in Biden’s plan.
At the unveiling of his infrastructure plan, Biden touted passenger rail as a green investment. “You and your family could travel coast to coast without a single tank of gas onboard a high-speed train,” he said.
“The American Jobs Plan will build new rail corridors and transit lines, easing congestion, cutting pollution, slashing commute times, and opening up investment in communities that can be connected to the cities, and cities to the outskirts, where a lot of jobs are these days. It’ll reduce the bottlenecks of commerce at our ports and our airports.”
Originally published at https://www.honestaustin.com on April 25, 2021.
