Plan being developed to move frieght rails
State, firms to engineer plan to move freight rails
Talks will continue on getting rail traffic out of urban areas
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2005
SAN ANTONIO -- The state and Union Pacific Corp. have been talking for months, looking for a way to move freight rails out of densely populated areas to reduce accidents and keep hazardous materials out of Texas ' major cities.
Gov. Rick Perry took a quick spin around the state Friday to say that the state and the rail giant have formally agreed to agree. And he'll be in Fort Worth today to announce a similar accord with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
But the estimated $10 billion needed to move most freight runs out to urban areas' rural fringes has not been identified, and specific projects have not been determined, Perry's office said.
Moving most of Union Pacific's two dozen or so freight runs through Round Rock, Austin and San Marcos to lonelier points east has been on the Central Texas agenda for years, actively so in the past two years. But finding the $500,000 to $700,000 to do that, and reaching terms with Union Pacific, has so far been a tricky task.
Texas has more rail crossings than any other state and consistently leads the nation in the number of vehicle-train accidents each year. Since 1984, more than 5,500 people have been killed or injured in vehicle-train collisions in Texas , Perry's office said.
Last month, about 200 San Marcos residents had to be evacuated after seven cars of a Union Pacific train, several of them carrying sulfuric acid, derailed. And late last year, federal regulators added 10 inspectors in San Antonio after six train accidents in the area left four people dead and released toxic chemicals.
Moving the rails also would help businesses move products from the warehouse to the market and open up valuable space for road construction, said Perry, who made the announcement at a Union Pacific rail yard in San Antonio and repeated it in Houston later in the day.
"Because trains will no longer have to slow down to pass through congested cities, shipments will reach their destination faster, saving Texas businesses valuable time and money that can be used to grow and create jobs," said Perry, a Republican.
In addition, if most freight runs move to other tracks, the urban rails -- such as the Union Pacific tracks down the center of MoPac Boulevard -- could be used part time for passenger rail.
"At one time, cities wanted railroads to come to their cities so they could grow," Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said. "And as time has gone on, now they want us out of the cities because of the noise and congestion trains can cause."
Perry has proposed a network of 4,000 miles of tollways and railways that would incorporate oil and gas pipelines and utility and water lines over the next 50 years, a project dubbed the Trans -Texas Corridor .
The corridor project carries an estimated price tag of $184 billion. Last week, the state signed an agreement with private contractor Cintra Zachry LP to begin developing plans for the first phase of the project, a 600-mile tollway from Oklahoma to Mexico that will run parallel to Interstate 35 for most of its length.
That agreement could provide a sizable chunk of the $10 billion for freight rail, as well as a location for alternate rail routes.
Cintra Zachry has said it would pay $1.2 billion in concession fees for the roads, money that Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson has said could be used to relocate freight rail service.
Copyright (c) 2005 Austin American-Statesman : www.statesman.com
Talks will continue on getting rail traffic out of urban areas
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2005
SAN ANTONIO -- The state and Union Pacific Corp. have been talking for months, looking for a way to move freight rails out of densely populated areas to reduce accidents and keep hazardous materials out of Texas ' major cities.
Gov. Rick Perry took a quick spin around the state Friday to say that the state and the rail giant have formally agreed to agree. And he'll be in Fort Worth today to announce a similar accord with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.
But the estimated $10 billion needed to move most freight runs out to urban areas' rural fringes has not been identified, and specific projects have not been determined, Perry's office said.
Moving most of Union Pacific's two dozen or so freight runs through Round Rock, Austin and San Marcos to lonelier points east has been on the Central Texas agenda for years, actively so in the past two years. But finding the $500,000 to $700,000 to do that, and reaching terms with Union Pacific, has so far been a tricky task.
Texas has more rail crossings than any other state and consistently leads the nation in the number of vehicle-train accidents each year. Since 1984, more than 5,500 people have been killed or injured in vehicle-train collisions in Texas , Perry's office said.
Last month, about 200 San Marcos residents had to be evacuated after seven cars of a Union Pacific train, several of them carrying sulfuric acid, derailed. And late last year, federal regulators added 10 inspectors in San Antonio after six train accidents in the area left four people dead and released toxic chemicals.
Moving the rails also would help businesses move products from the warehouse to the market and open up valuable space for road construction, said Perry, who made the announcement at a Union Pacific rail yard in San Antonio and repeated it in Houston later in the day.
"Because trains will no longer have to slow down to pass through congested cities, shipments will reach their destination faster, saving Texas businesses valuable time and money that can be used to grow and create jobs," said Perry, a Republican.
In addition, if most freight runs move to other tracks, the urban rails -- such as the Union Pacific tracks down the center of MoPac Boulevard -- could be used part time for passenger rail.
"At one time, cities wanted railroads to come to their cities so they could grow," Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said. "And as time has gone on, now they want us out of the cities because of the noise and congestion trains can cause."
Perry has proposed a network of 4,000 miles of tollways and railways that would incorporate oil and gas pipelines and utility and water lines over the next 50 years, a project dubbed the Trans -Texas Corridor .
The corridor project carries an estimated price tag of $184 billion. Last week, the state signed an agreement with private contractor Cintra Zachry LP to begin developing plans for the first phase of the project, a 600-mile tollway from Oklahoma to Mexico that will run parallel to Interstate 35 for most of its length.
That agreement could provide a sizable chunk of the $10 billion for freight rail, as well as a location for alternate rail routes.
Cintra Zachry has said it would pay $1.2 billion in concession fees for the roads, money that Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson has said could be used to relocate freight rail service.
Copyright (c) 2005 Austin American-Statesman :
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Saturday, March 19, 2005
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