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Railroad Forums
Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
electricron wrote: ↑Sat Aug 03, 2019 4:47 pmI usually rent a truck when I'm in Texas (and most other places, too). But I try to ride transit in any big city. The problem I see with Texas public transport is this: Most of the light rail was built long ago and isn't in a comprehensive system except in Dallas. They're getting better, but have a long way to go. Further, the passenger train network is almost all long-distance trains, and few people (justifiably) want to rely on a 3x/week coming in from LA to get from San Antonio to Houston, for example.Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Sat Aug 03, 2019 8:58 am Finally, as I noted at the Transit Forum, I was in Dallas now two weeks ago. I hadn't been there in thirty years, and was totally astounded how the region has embraced mass transportation since that time. I had expected that any Texan's idea of "mass transportation" was simply the three tons of mass representing a Silverado (aren't they made at a GM Texas plant?) transporting often just a driver at whatever velocity the driver wished. Also when landing, when I was there last, the visible suburban sprawl was cotton fields.They build Escalades, Tahoes, and Denali(s) in Arlington, nor Silverados and Sierras.
Only 2%-3% of Texans ride public transit, but I suppose that is better than 1%.
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2019 11:16 amOff the cuff, I think there's pros and cons to having an umbrella org. On one hand, all the agencies in the DFW area are much smaller, even combined, than NJT or Metra. It might make sense to slim down the admins and procurements. On the other hand, there are a few distinct areas within the Metroplex that have much different values and relationships. Dallas, Fort Worth, and the north suburbs are all different, with much different cultures. Dallas is a bit like LA, Fort Worth is Fort Worth, and the suburbs are a bit like Columbus. If there were to be an umbrella org, there might be conflicts. There's a good reason Indiana doesn't just write Metra a check to run South Shore and ask for ridership numbers at the end of the year. That agency has their own problems and masters, and Indiana folks don't want them spilling over into managing our trains.
They do not seem to have a regional agency, which I must ask, is or isn't that a detriment to the development of coordinated mass transit?
Enquiring mind wants to know.
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2019 11:53 am Trinity Rail is an agency of DART if I’m not mistaken, but I can’t speak to the others like TexRail and the A-Train.Sort of. Last I recall, FWTA and DART have joint ownership and representation. There's a long history when it comes to transportation and the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth...
twropr wrote: ↑Tue Aug 06, 2019 7:56 pm Does the Texas Eagle still use the former Santa Fe station in Ft Worth? With the Trinity Express route is there still a backup move involved in reaching the station?No, Amtrak uses the new ITC (intermodal transit center) train station built a quarter mile north of the old Santa Fe station. The Texas Eagles no longer need to do backup maneuvers.
eolesen wrote: ↑Tue Aug 06, 2019 1:14 amI used to work in Fort Worth. I took TRE a few times to Dallas for dinner when I thought there would be some heavy wine consumption. I had the same conclusion, it takes forever to get there. I would always uber back to Fort Worth.
For the record, I rode TRE back in the early 2000's when it was rolled out, but only because I got an employer sponsored pass that was $80 for an entire year. It took twice as long to get to work, and I gave up once rates went up.
Tadman wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:59 am The TRE and Tex Rail are a move in the right direction, but why do they stop in downtown Fort Worth when the population center (and a major university) are farther west? It's that old mentality of "everybody goes downtown" which isn't the case in Texas.1 & 2) TCU and points further south are on Texrail expansion plans. In fact, Texrail construction costs came in under budget around $50 Million, and they just received permission from USDOT to keep the surplus and use it to extend it to the Medical District south of downtown Fort Worth, which would be one station short of TCU. There is no railroad main line going to Lake Worth, but there is an industrial spur going as far to the Lockheed Plant from the old T&P mainline in west Fort Worth.
If I were to make a few changes to Texas rail transport, it might be this:
1. Double track TRE and extend to TCU or Lake Worth NAS.
2. The same for Texrail to Lake Worth or TCU.
3. Higher-speed rail between major cities - Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, return.
4. Corridor trains to Oklahoma and NOLA/Lafayette. 2x/day.
5. Make sure the Flyer has a connection up north to Dallas, which is 10x the size of Fort Worth.