This caught my eye last week.
The Gulf Coast Rail District says to make the system viable the train needs to come into downtown, or there has to be some sort of commuter rail option that would link downtown with the high-speed line.
The Rail District now wants to study the possibility of a rail line along the I-10 corridor that would get passengers close to the downtown Amtrak station.
Gulf Coast Rail District Executive Director Maureen Crocker says a train could possibly run on the median or along the embankments. Crocker adds if the high-speed rail line doesn’t have an easy connection into downtown it could cause problems for everyone.
There’s not much more to the story, and to say the least this raised more questions for me than it answered. So, I reached out to Ms. Crocker with my questions:
Are the endpoints for this simply the proposed high speed rail terminal at 290 and 610 on one end and downtown on the other, or is there more to it than that?
The study will be focused solely on the segment you reference. It is important to note that GCRD has been in discussions with TCR about the operation of regional rail service below the HSR structure it will build. Previous studies completed by GCRD have indicated that regional rail ridership triples if the rail continues to downtown from the Northwest Transit Center area near Loop 610. GCRD has studied regional rail to Hempstead in essentially the same corridor that TCR has identified. In addition, TxDOT has studied an extension of the regional rail corridor to Austin using abandoned freight rail ROW and rail ROW owned by Cap Metro. Maximizing the synergies of the HSR corridor and the regional rail corridor will be a win-win for the Houston region.
I-10 does not have a median inside Loop 610, so I am confused about where this might be located. Can you be more specific?
Several options will be evaluated including an elevated structure between the eastbound and westbound lanes of IH-10 east of Loop 610. More options will be identified during the initial phase of work. TxDOT will be very involved in this effort.
I realize that this is barely even in the embryonic stage, but if this goes forward in some fashion, who would be responsible to build it?
It is too early to predict what a final partnership will look like. Agreements are being developed for this phase of work to be led by GCRD and H-GAC with strong participation from TxDOT, METRO and the City of Houston.
Are there other possibilities under consideration? I’m thinking of the “Inner Katy” light rail corridor that was part of the 2003 Metro referendum as such an alternative.
The focus of this phase of work is to determine the feasibility of a direct, nonstop rail connection from Loop 610 to downtown for HSR travelers, regional rail commuters, and local commuters for whom the Loop 610 station is convenient. All parties will be at the table to coordinate related planning efforts. Future phases of this work could address more localized distribution from the Loop 610 station such as the proposed Inner Katy LRT service.
So there you have it. Still a lot of details to be worked out, and who knows how long this all might take, but I do have a clearer idea of what’s being discussed. I noticed the mention of commuter rail in there as well, which is another point in favor of the HSR station being located at 290 and 610, as well as another argument for finishing the link into downtown. I’ll be keeping an eye on this, I’m very interested to see how it goes. My thanks to Ms. Crocker for her helpful answers.
Thanks, Charles. How will they get around the reasons that TCR isn’t going downtown to the Amtrak station? From the FRA’s report (DH-1 is the route from 290/610 to the Amtrak station):
“DH‐1 has the potential to create significant environmental impacts to six areas of concerns – National Historic District Heights Boulevard Esplanade, the US Healthworks Hospital, Houston and Texas Central Railroad archeology site, and Cottage Grove Park. Additionally, DH‐1 also has a potential to disproportionately impact minority populations. Due to these potential environmental impacts, as well as TCR’s estimated high capital costs (TCR’s Last Mile Analysis Report 2015a), FRA determined that DH‐1 does not meet the stated purpose and need of the Project and FRA eliminated it from further consideration for this Project.”
If going downtown from 610/290 really will TRIPLE the ridership then why isn’t TCR pursuing this harder? Could it be because the folks behind TCR will make their money whether or not the HSR is successful?
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