For obvious reasons, I don’t expect this to go anywhere.
Rep. John Bucy
As plans for a Dallas to Houston bullet train move forward, one state legislator is hoping to kick-start another high speed rail line from North Texas to San Antonio.
State Rep. John Bucy, a Democrat who represents parts of Austin and Williamson County, told KERA that his legislation, if passed, would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to start planning a line along the I-35 corridor, one of the most traveled in the state.
“Having high speed rail between connecting these major hubs of Texas, of Dallas and Austin and San Antonio, it should be a great option for Texans and for visitors and everyone alike,” Bucy said.
House Bill 483 would require TXDoT to enter into a comprehensive development agreement with a private partner to create the new line. Another bill, HB 542, would allow for the use of state highway funds for transit-oriented projects as well as public roads.
Bucy said there are no specific plans drawn out for the bullet train to San Antonio. Right now, it’s just a vision.
“It’s more just telling the Texas Department of Transportation to basically enter a bid and get a contract going on,” Bucy said.
He added that since he pre-filed the bills, there’s been an outpouring of support among constituents and advocates.
“The calls are non-stop, from constituents, from county commissioners, from elected officials that are just excited about this idea,” he said.
Peter LeCody, president of Texas Rail Advocates, called the bills an “early Christmas gift” for passenger rail supporters.
“TxDOT has been kind of gun shy in the past to enter into any type of funding resolution or apply for any of these funds,” LeCody said. “It’s going to be interesting to see if we can get the legislature to move on this.”
He said the recently formed Texas Passenger Rail Advisory Committee is leading the charge on passenger rail projects across the state. Members of the committee, organized by Travis County judge Andy Brown and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, include the rail division director for TxDOT as well as local elected officials and representatives from private businesses.
Whatever you think about traffic on I-45, it’s worse on I-35, and with the continued population boom along I-35 there’s just no number of lanes that could be built that will alleviate the problem. Some kind of more scalable alternative is needed, and that’s rail. There have long been efforts to build passenger rail between Austin and San Antonio, none of which have come close to succeeding; this bill would start from there and go bigger. It all makes sense. Getting TxDOT on board would make a big difference. Local governments – the story notes the push from North Texas leaders on both the Houston to Dallas line and the Dallas to Fort Worth connector – are in support. I’m rooting for it to happen. I fully expect to be disappointed. So it goes.