Posted on 10/22/2006 6:43:23 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
When a close call like last week's train derailment in Beacon Hill happens, the "what if" questions — as in what if a deadly poison had been released near so many homes — soon are followed by questions about what can be done.
But answers to how long it will take to reroute most trains out of San Antonio's core, how much it will cost and where the money will come from don't come easily.
And the best guesses on fixing the problem — a decade or more and billions of dollars — don't help people sleep much better.
"It's a very frightening situation," Mayor Phil Hardberger said. "We must move forward as fast as we can to get these rails out of San Antonio."
About 80 Union Pacific trains a day pass through the city, 50 of which could be rerouted if new tracks and rail yards were built, according to company.
Costs for tracks near Loop 1604 around the South Side and east of Interstate 35 to north of Austin could run $2 billion to $3 billion, said Patrick Marotta, a policy analyst with the Texas Department of Transportation.
"That's if we build it today," he said. "We're not going to build it today."
The first obstacle is money — there isn't any.
Voters last year approved the Texas Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund, allowing the state to sell bonds to buy land and build and improve tracks. But the Legislature still needs to put money into it, and TxDOT suggested $200 million a year to back $2 billion in bonds.
"We thought $2 billion would be a good start to begin partnering with local entities and the private sector," said David Casteel, who heads TxDOT's San Antonio office.
Adding taxes to train fuel or freight has been discussed, but industry officials don't like those options, Casteel said.
Finding money could be tough in what likely will be another tight budget when state lawmakers return in January for their regular session.
Existing priorities include efforts to restore cuts made to the Children's Health Insurance Program and address shortages in the state's pension program for retired schoolteachers, said state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio.
Lawmakers also face a growing demand to corral ever-increasing college tuition rates.
"The pressure is unbelievable to ease tuition escalation," Van de Putte said.
Recommended funding for rail relocations won't be known until December, said Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, co-author of the measure that voters approved.
"I'm optimistic," she said. "This is the perfect example of what we need when something like this continues to happen."
Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, and House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, are likely to play big roles determining funding priorities. They didn't return phone calls.
San Antonio will need allies to get money for rail relocations, Van de Putte said.
"It's got to be perceived by my colleagues as more than just a San Antonio or Bexar County problem," she said.
TxDOT says it is more than a San Antonio problem, which ironically leads to another problem — other cities will vie for the same pot of money.
Relocating trains or at least separating rail and road crossings in urban areas, plus improvements to ease rail traffic congestion, would cost a whopping $16 billion, Marotta said.
"The state just can't provide all the necessary funds to relocate rail in communities," said Hope Andrade, a San Antonio resident serving on the five-member Texas Transportation Commission. "The future of anything we do is going to be public-private partnerships."
This is where state officials like to play their Trans-Texas Corridor card.
The Trans-Texas Corridor is a proposed 4,000-mile network of toll lanes, freight and passenger rail lines and utility lines that would criss-cross the state to handle growing international trade and population.
As envisioned, companies would finance most or all of the TTC in return for collecting tolls and user fees for 50 years.
A consortium led by Cintra of Spain and Zachry Construction Co. of San Antonio is willing to invest $6 billion to build new rail tracks from Dallas to Mexico, with construction starting in five to 10 years.
Rail companies have stated they won't pay to use the tracks unless they profit as well, but state officials say trains able to go 80 mph instead of trundling an average of 25 mph through cities will be a strong selling point.
"We believe in the power of the market," said Ric Williamson, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission.
Bonds from the rail relocation fund and local money could be used to build links to Cintra-Zachry's proposed rail line, Williamson said. So could some of the $2 billion in concession fees from planned TTC toll lanes from San Antonio to Dallas.
Meanwhile, by bundling toll lanes, railways and utility lines together rather than putting them in separate rights of way, less land and money would be needed, he added.
"We have been saying this for four years," he said. "The whole idea is to combine the fixed costs to reduce the cost of each."
But that leads to another problem — a lot of people don't like the corridors.
Critics say companies would profit from tolls, gas stations and restaurants while communities would see their tax bases shrink and economic opportunities sucked away. Also, farmers and ranchers would be forced to give up land for the 1,200-foot-wide swaths, and some farm-to-market highways won't connect to the corridors while other roads won't even cross it.
"It's one of the most contested and intrusive concoctions known to Texans," Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson said. "The cheaper solution is for the railroad to fix the gosh darn tracks and establish procedures that will make for safer operations."
We do not get to do a three out of five, and then go for a six out of ten, and then a twelve out of twenty. The Texas Constitution has already been amended. We know that it is a bad idea to keep opening the Constitution. Valid challenges must go through the proper channels. Never bow down to the tyrants that can mobilize the largest mob. In this case, it is a small mob.
I think this road is not needed,
A "what if" doesn't concern me anywhere near as much as trains blocking block after block of inner city Houston where little children have to climb between rail cars to get to school. How many rich white kids would have to lose a limb before something would be done?
Thanks for the ping!
The purpose of the bill was to help out some speculators in El Paso.
You're welcome.
Is it just my imagination or have you done a complete 180 on this issue? Seems to me you were against this at first.
I was. I attended two of the meetings, and wrote my legislator. After receiving the response, and researching the bills, it became very clear to me that the planted (and paid!) opposition that showed up each time has an agenda that is not in the best interest of Texas. Since each of the large metropolitan areas have bought into the concept in principle without mounting any sort of legal challenge, it seems that there is more cooperation and consideration than the opposition claims. Seriously, consider setting up a 30 minute phone call or meeting with your state representative or better yet write them a letter outlining your concerns. If done in a polite and sincere manner, you will get a response. Attend your next county commissioners meeting. You may be surprised at how far they are going to defend the rights of Texans, while still planning for the economic growth of Texas. If you have specific comments or questions on TTC-35, you can go here : http://www.keeptexasmoving.com/comments_questions/ttc-35_comments.htm On TTC-69, go here: http://www.keeptexasmoving.org/comments_questions/comments_i69.asp
Once again, polite and sincere questions get answered. Cutting and pasting rhetoric from a Strayhorn sponsored site will guarantee a "canned" reply.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.