Very interesting. Deeply flawed, as far as I can tell, but interesting.
Travis County leaders are exploring new ways to connect Austin to San Antonio. On Tuesday morning, county commissioners approved a $124,953 study from HNTB, an engineering company, to look into a new commuter rail line along State Highway 130 and Interstate 10.
“We’re not going to be able to build our way using highways out of the connection problem that we have with San Antonio, and so this would allow another option,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said. “I can’t think of any similar-sized, especially growing this fast, regions in the world that don’t have good passenger rail service in between them.”
In the Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio, the current population is about 4.5 million, but it’s expected to grow 6 to 7 million by 2030. For years, Brown said he’s talked to Union Pacific about adding a passenger rail line along I-35 connecting the two cities.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is currently working on a study about adding a passenger line there. But with freight trains already on that line, he said it may be difficult to make the two of them work on the same line.
That’s why county leaders are now looking into this alternate route. It would be around 80-90 miles running from 71, down SH 130 and ending on I-10. Brown said he’s confident this route would be more feasible.
“That I believe would get us a lot of support at the Capitol, at TxDOT, and other places if we’re not trying to take private land to build this passenger rail line,” Brown said.
Once the feasibility study is completed, Brown said county leaders would have to put together some plans for the rail. That would include deciding who would run the train – either TxDOT, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) or another entity – and how they would pay for it, either locally, through ticket sales, or split across the counties between Travis and Bexar County.
Once that is done, Brown is hopeful they can bring a plan to the federal government to get some funding for the project.
“If we can get that plan together, I think that’s something very persuasive to then go to the federal government and say, ‘Hey, you know, we’ve come together, all these communities, we have a study, we can do it once it’s built – would you help us build it?'” Brown said.
The feasibility study is expected to be completed in March 2026. Looking at the timeline for other cities that have built a similar rail line in about two and a half years, Brown is hopeful the timeline for this passenger rail wouldn’t be too far off.
KXAN adds some details.
A planning manager with TNR spoke to commissioners during the meeting on Tuesday to provide them with a rundown of what the feasibility study would entail.
“This study is intended to be a complement to a TxDOT study that’s being conducted by HNTB. The TxDOT study is focusing on the IH 35 corridor and is expected to conclude in March of 2026,” she said. “The study we’re proposing today would also be conducted by HNTB and focus on other options using the right-of-way of state highways and interstates in the region.”
The study will analyze current rail infrastructure and potential service options from the Amtrak station in San Antonio to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin. It’s expected to take 175 days, and it will cover project management, engineering feasibility, cost estimates, and a technical memorandum.
“I’m very excited about this one,” Judge Andy Brown said. He said the study would look at a route that would “theoretically go from downtown Austin out 71, then down 130, and then in on I-10.” Brown said the study is just looking at the 130 to I-10 segment.
There’s already an I-10 Corridor study, which would presumably handle the rest.
Longtime fans know of my obsession with the Lone Star Rail District and its decades-old promise of building commuter rail between Austin and San Antonio along the I-35 corridor. For various reasons, not the least of which being the need to share the existing freight rail tracks with freight rail companies that don’t want to share, it has never come together despite the obvious benefits.
This plan, if it were to happen, could finally connect Austin and San Antonio via rail. It would be a much longer trip, and there would be fewer in-between cities to include – an I-35 line could make stops in Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, and New Braunfels at least, as well as being extended to Round Rock and Georgetown, while this line could stop in Seguin and not much else as far as I can tell. I don’t know what that might do to the cost-benefit analysis, but it can’t be great.
But we’ll see. A flawed plan might still be a lot better than no plan, and if it got proper levels of support it could come together in a few years. I will note that there’s a TxDOT Statewide Multimodal Transit Plan out there now, which might help nudge this along, as it notes the vast ridership potential for this long-desired rail connection. Is this finally the winning formula? I’ll keep an eye on it. KUT and Trains.com have more.