Texas Transit Association

During the next several decades, Texas’ population is expected to more than double to more than 50 million people — a staggering gain that the state’s transportation infrastructure is incapable of handling.

What began as a search for a solution to this problem has now developed into the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation “Corp.”:http://www.thsrtc.com/BodyContent.htm — a grassroots, nonprofit organization created in 2002 to promote multi-modal transportation such as high-speed rail in Texas.

T-Bone on Congress’ menu
By Glen Whitley
Special to the Star-Telegram Mar. 31, 2004

I wholeheartedly agree with the Star-Telegram’s recent, positive and educational editorial on this subject. (See “It’s time for the T-Bone” in The Weekly Review, Feb. 29.)

In 1992, Congress passed the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA), which designated potential high-speed rail corridors throughout the country for further study.

Not surprisingly, two of the possible corridors (Houston/Gulf Coast and Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Fort Worth-Dallas) were located in Texas, the second-largest and fastest-growing state in the country.

What was surprising was the lack of a connection between the two corridors.

The top priority of the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp. is to link the corridors.

The group, consisting of city and county officials from throughout the state, has proposed its modified version of the corridor plan, which, based on its unique shape, has been dubbed the “Texas T-Bone.”

Unlike its predecessors, the T-Bone would connect more than 70 percent of Texans by linking the state’s major airports in the corridor and by joining Houston through Bryan-College Station to a north-south corridor between San Antonio and Fort Worth-Dallas at Temple and Killeen, home of Fort Hood.

This connection is significant to homeland security, as Fort Hood is our nation’s largest and arguably most active military base in our war against global terror. The T-Bone would provide new means for troop deployment and equipment supply in times of need.

Interestingly enough, this would all be done in only 440 miles with grade separations so as not to interfere with other surface traffic. Previous concepts, such as Gov. Rick Perry’s Trans Texas Corridor and the 1990 Texas Triangle, required 1,150 miles and 764 miles, respectively, resulting in much higher costs.

The project would reduce congestion on major highways resulting from Texas’ unparalleled growth. Businesses would find it easier to access the Port of Houston, which plays a significant role in Texas’ position as the nation’s top exporter.

The Texas T-Bone’s merits might best be demonstrated by its unlikely appeal for major airports.

In years past, airlines raised some of the loudest objections to high-speed rail. Yet with its rapid connections to and from airports such as Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston’s Bush International, the T-Bone has gained support as a means of collecting and distributing passengers for Texas’ airports and transit systems.

Still, time is of the essence if the T-Bone is to become a reality.

Congress is debating a six-year extension of the Transportation Equity Act, derived from 1992’s ISTEA. No more than three high-speed rail projects are expected to be named demonstration projects.

We need our congressional delegation to designate a new link to combine the two corridors into one project and push for the selection of this corridor as one of the three demonstration projects.

Texas’ steady growth and its potential benefits ought to put it at the top of the federal government’s list of candidates.

Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley is chairman of the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Regional Transportation Council and secretary to the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp.