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I don't go to Austin much and it seems like a lot of money to save a few minutes of travel time. But I'm sure it would help traffic congestion.
Study adds steam to case for area commuter rail
Web Posted: 03/04/2005 12:00 AM CST
Patrick Driscoll
Express-News Staff Writer
A study nearing completion is fueling a long-held vision that commuter rail service between San Antonio and Austin is not only feasible — but necessary.
"I would be stunned if there is not passenger rail service in this corridor in the next 10 or 15 years," said Tullos Wells, chairman of the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District. "I would like to see it happen sooner than later."
The rail district board is scheduled today to review a draft of the study, which says linking the two cities by commuter rail makes sense. The draft updates a 1999 study that said the same thing. And since then, congestion on Interstate 35 has only gotten worse.
According to the new study:
Express trains could whoosh passengers as fast as 80 mph, getting them from downtown San Antonio to downtown Austin in 92 minutes. The same trip by car takes from 94 to 105 minutes during rush hour.
Trains could depart every hour to 90 minutes during the startup phases of service, which officials hope will be in 2009, and as frequently as 30 minutes after full service begins.
A one-way ticket could cost a maximum of $12, which would cover the entire 110-mile route from San Antonio's South Side to Georgetown. Fares would be lower for shorter distances and there would likely be discounts.
The study, expected to be finished next month, is nurturing hopes for some board members, who say it provides good reason to seek more details and hunt for federal and local funds to make commuter rail happen.
"There doesn't appear to be any show stoppers," said Sid Covington, vice chairman of the rail district board. "I haven't seen anything to indicate that this isn't the right thing to do."
Officials also need to conduct an environmental assessment, and get Union Pacific to move its through freight off tracks near Interstate 35 to free them up for commuter rail service, both of which could take another two years, according to the study.
Ramping up initial service would cost an estimated $394 million for construction and $28 million a year to operate and maintain, the study says. Up to 5 million people a year could be riding by 2030.
Full service would cost about 50 percent more — $608 million for construction — but is projected to attract up to 8 million passengers a year.
Those costs don't include building new railroad tracks around San Antonio and Austin, which could run about $1.8 billion. However, rerouting freight trains would have other benefits, such as getting toxic cargo out of downtown areas.
As a comparison, the study says that adding two lanes to I-35 from San Antonio to Georgetown would cost more than $2 billion.
Meanwhile, the Central Texas portion of I-35 has the worst congestion, most traffic fatalities and worst highway-related pollution than any other section of the freeway from Mexico to Canada, the study states.
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Personally, I love the idea. There are meetings to discuss this soon, but I lost the email with the dates.
I don't go to Austin much and it seems like a lot of money to save a few minutes of travel time. But I'm sure it would help traffic congestion.
yeah, price seems high for this short commute...
News Editor to the rescue!
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Rail District Community Meetings
March 3, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Buda/Kyle, Hays High School, 4800 Jack C. Hays Trail, Buda
March 5, 2005, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon: Austin, Burger Center, 3200 Jones Rd.
March 7, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Georgetown, 9th Grade Campus, 2239 N. Austin Ave.
March 8, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Round Rock, Stony Point 9th Grade Center, 1901 Sunrise Rd.
March 10, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Austin, Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Rd.
March 12, 2005, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon: San Antonio, Brackenridge High School, 400 Eagleland Dr.
March 21, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: San Marcos, San Marcos Activity Center, 501 E. Hopkins
March 22, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: New Braunfels, New Braunfels High School, 2551 Loop 337 North
March 24, 2005, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Live Oak, Live Oak Activity Center, 8101 Pat Booker Rd.
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I also have the photo of the proposed rail line, but I can't access my webspace to post it.
http://www.universitystar.com/curren...le.php?aid=189
Meetings on commuter rail hope to ease I-35 traffic
Chris Boehm / News Reporter
University Star
The Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District is hosting a series of meetings concerning a new passenger rail system from Georgetown to San Antonio, with the initial phase of the project to be completed by 2009.
Citing a dangerous and congested stretch of Interstate 35 known as “the corridor,” the organization will provide information and seek input from the public meetings, the first of which is scheduled for
6:30 p.m. March 3 at Hays High School in Buda. Eight other meetings are scheduled throughout March.
“At first it was a big problem — finding out who was going to do this,” said District Vice Chairman Sid Covington, referring to the project. “In 2002, the commuter district became a reality, and now one of the biggest things is funding.”
Potential stops for the rail system include Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Round Rock and Georgetown, with further plans for relocating stretches of Union Pacific railroad. A one-way fare from downtown San Antonio to downtown Austin will cost $12, according to a WOAI San Antonio article.
In 1999, a Federal Highway Administration study found this stretch of I-35 to have the highest fatality rate, pollution level and the most congestion anywhere along the 1,700 miles of the highway that stretch from Mexico to Canada.
Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council President Ross Milloy has used this in his argument for progressive efforts in the area. He supports the rail project and considers it vital to both thinning traffic and improving the area’s economy.
“A fully implemented system would pull 35 percent of cars off the highway,” Milloy said. “Of course this is important, but more so is the fact that a rail system would boost conglomerate effects. More businesses would visit the area if they felt it was convenient to service in Round Rock and San Marcos, due to the rail system.”
On its Web site, the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District states that over the next 20 years, population within the corridor is expected to double to five million people, the current size of Dallas-Fort Worth. A commuter rail has the potential to add the equivalent of two more lanes of traffic on I-35, with each car holding roughly 160 people.
“It’s going to be a very classic commuter rail — bigger than a light rail,” Covington said. “There will be conductor cars on either end of the tram, so it will be able to travel in either direction on one track.”
Covington sees the rail as a potential benefit for many people, including students, tourists, outlet-mall shoppers and those with doctor’s appointments. With people freed from driving, the passengers can then exert their energies elsewhere.
“You’ll be able to do something like read or write or watch television,” Covington said. “Much more peaceful and relaxing than white-knuckling it down the interstate.”
Texas State students who commute to and from school would no longer have to worry about slowdown from highway accidents or finding a place to park once on campus.
“It’s a good idea,” said Leticia Acosta, criminal justice junior. “It should help out a lot with traffic problems, but I don’t know if people will want to give up having their cars with them in case they have to go somewhere.”
Environmental resources sop re Jason Ford feels a rail system would be a welcome accommodation yet is unsure how much use a rail system would garner.
“The question is whether a lot of people will use it,” Ford said, who travels to Austin to work at a photo lab. “I think they will; you’ll be saving a lot on gas and time. It should be more convenient.”
The district plans on having the rail cars travel at a speed and time comparative to taking your own automobiles and has set its goal at slightly under 90 minutes from downtown Austin to downtown San Antonio.
“The cars we’ll be using, due to the freight, will be limited to 79 miles per hour, but in some towns like San Marcos, corporate speed zones might bring it down to about 35 miles per hour,” Covington said.
http://www.universitystar.com/curren...le.php?aid=237
The Main Point
Commuter rail project deserves student support
University Star Editorial Staff
If the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District succeeds in building a commuter rail to service the Interstate 35 corridor, a proposed stop in San Marcos would be a huge boon to Texas State commuter students.
With more than 51 percent of Texas State students living out of town, a commuter rail could allow many of those students the option to leave their cars at home.
According to a 2003 study by the Texas Transportation Ins ute, part of Texas A&M University, the traffic problems are only getting worse. The study said the average urban commuter is stuck in traffic 46 hours a year — imagine how those who drive 30 minutes to school every day feel. The rail district’s Web site states over the next 20 years, population within the corridor is expected to double to five million people, the current size of Dallas-Fort Worth. With the addition of that many possible commuters, San Marcos will undoubtedly become a site for many more traffic jams.
A commuter rail using the existing Union Pacific tracks could add the equivalent of two extra lanes to I-35 and have the potential to remove up to 35 percent of cars off the highway. This would be a tremendous step to improving the condition of Texas’ sadly underdeveloped public transportation system. Environmentalists and aggravated motorists alike desire improved public transportation; when public transportation is added to areas without any, people will use it.
If the proposed price of $12 for a one-way ticket from Austin to San Antonio is approved, the economic advantage to students would be tremendous. If a commuter from Austin or San Antonio drives approximately 60 miles round trip to and from San Marcos five times per week, at 30 miles per gallon with a 12 gallon tank, he would consume a gallon of gas per week. At the current market prices for gasoline, that cost is too high for the average college student to pay. A monthly rail pass for the TRI-RAIL in South Florida costs $80; if the cost for a pass for the proposed system were the same, a student would be spending about $4 per round trip.
If there is to be a stop in San Marcos, Texas State must be willing to provide bus service to the commuter rail. Texas State students would need the support of the university to be able to justify having the stop. It would also eliminate the need for the Texas State bus service to and from Austin, which costs $40 for 10 rides, not round trip.
According to the rail district’s Web site, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, has helped the district to apply for and receive $5.7 million in federal funding. Texans would not have to pay for the rail system from their tax coffers, but would only have to pay for the cost of the ride.
All Texas State students should go to the community meetings being held by the rail district and provide input on the proposed rail project. The meetings are being held at 6:30 p.m. on March 3 at Hays High School in Buda, 2 p.m. at the Burger Center on March 5 and at 6:30 p.m. on March 10 at the Town Lake Center in Austin. Students should also contact their state representatives and ask them to support legislation that would allow the rail district to be completed. For more information on the commuter rail, visit the rail district’s Web site at www.asarail.org.
I think a local transportation system is more important than one between SA and Austin. I think those that work in SA should live in SA, and those who work in Austin, should live in Austin. Manny, don't you think it would more enviromentally friendly to simply live closer to where you work than to build an expensive transportation system? I also don't understand who this would really help. I think the people getting the most benefit from this would be the people who want to earn Austin tech job money, but live in SA's cost of living. I think that it would be unfair to burden the tax payers with something that benefits only a small number of people.
Believe me, Chris. We hashed this stuff out the night we wrote that Staff Ed. We have people who are from Austin and San Antonio on our Editorial Board.
What was nice to find out is that Union Pacific will probably allow the commuter rail to use their existing tracks along I-35 and (especially important to San Marcos and Texas State), the city is attempting to have UP and all train service out of the city instead of cutting the northern half into thirds.
Also, according to the university's 2006-15 Master Plan, a number of on-campus student parking will be eliminated, so the commuter levels will rise, not decline.
If Top Ten reform passes, students will no longer be admitted to the universities of their choice (IE: UT-Austin, A&M) exclusively, but they would be admitted to the system.
Austin students might have to go to UTSA and A&M students might have to go to A&M-SA. Same goes for those in the Texas State system (which has schools in San Marcos and Uvalde). What that also means is the enrollment at Texas State might increase more that expected if students choose to leave the UT system and go down the road.
Last edited by Johnny_Blaze_47; 03-04-2005 at 11:09 AM.
Those costs don't include building new railroad tracks around San Antonio and Austin, which could run about $1.8 billion. However, rerouting freight trains would have other benefits, such as getting toxic cargo out of downtown areas.
1.8 billion?!!! Where is that money going to come from? Is the $608 million in addition to the $394 million?
I think the problem with the corrider is not that it's hugely over crowded or dangerous as a interstate, but that it's NOT FINISHED! The area around New Braunfels is terrible because of all of the contruction there. Having 4 lanes converge down to 2 twisting and turning lanes is not safe and is sure to cause congestion. They need to finish that section or atleast compare apples to apples.As a comparison, the study says that adding two lanes to I-35 from San Antonio to Georgetown would cost more than $2 billion.
Meanwhile, the Central Texas portion of I-35 has the worst congestion, most traffic fatalities and worst highway-related pollution than any other section of the freeway from Mexico to Canada, the study states.
I also do not see how the large number of big rigs on 35 will decrease with the addition of light rail. And for those that don't know, trucks make up an ever growing percentage of traffic on 35.
Can't argue there. That NB area is a to drive through, even on Sunday afternoons when I usually hit it.
San Marcos is not so bad, but once you hit the Buda/Kyle area to Austin, it starts up again.
also, once all the people begin moving to sa our cost of living would rise...not to mention we'd have all those austin hippies!
But who will pay for the construction of the rail and it's operating cost? $5.7 million is for what?
$28 million a year will come from ticket sales alone?and $28 million a year to operate and maintain, the study says.
i still say, 24 round trip is waaaaay too expensive...
And damn your editing Blaze!!! Damn it to !!!
Actually, I was just adding.And damn your editing Blaze!!! Damn it to !!!
It's probably not going to average out to $12/trip for those that buy passes or such.
Also, for shorter distances (including those from SA-SM and Austin-SM), it would likely be cheaper.
That's what these meetings are for. We're going to have reporters at the SM and NB meeting (I'll try and make the Live Oak meeting since we work on the paper Monday-Wednesday nights).
I'll be sure to bring up your points, Chris.
Did you bother to read this?
As a comparison, the study says that adding two lanes to I-35 from San Antonio to Georgetown would cost more than $2 billion.
The 1.8 Billion is SAVING you 200 million.
So, don't argue cost, it's a losing arguement.
You guys do realize that they aren't just thinking about Today right? You guys realize that the I35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio and including the 2 is growing incredibly fast right?
Ah, I'm not going to argue it. , if you don't even bother to read the articles posted, whats the point in discussing them?
Once our site gets updated (I think our Web admin was out sick these last few days), I'll post a column from one of our columnists about Austin and why they should secede from Texas.
I'm of the opinion that if you want to go to college at a paticular place, you move there. I think a subway system or some other smaller scale tansportation system to succeed VIA or cover other local needs is more important than a rail system between Austin and SA. I would be pro local transportation.
Wouldn't this be an argument FOR the light rail?
Also, there are expanded proposals for (possibly) a toll road leading from SA to Austin (IIRC, it'd be between I-35 and I-10).
Dude, we don't need a subway system. What the ?
Smaller scale transportation system?
What the ?
You know Via isin the process of growing right?
Chris, are you being serious?
except that millions more people would use the 2 extra lanes versus the commuter rail
no ...what is up with these people? they think college kids have all that time and money to waste commuting for a couple classes? they need jobs too...this way they won't have time for a job bc they'd be commuting the whole time
There is never going to be a lower amount of truck traffic on 35. It's a HUGE corridor for shipping out of Lardeo. When I worked as a dispatcher, almost everything I had came out of Mexico up 35 to Michigan loaded with car parts.
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