<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3lztyy_1Gxf7BVR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3lztyy_1Gxf7BVR00" width="1280" height="718" >TEXAS — Building more rail between Texas cities is among the flurry of issues a newly blue state government is expected to take up in January, and it seems there are more calls than ever to do so.Currently, there is one two-way train a day between San Antonio and Austin — the corridor of the Texas Triangle with the most daily car traffic. It takes about two hours and $30 to go both ways on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, but it’s the timing that makes it inconvenient for most travelers. When it’s on time, the Texas Eagle departs San Antonio around 6:45 a.m. and leaves Austin at 7:30 p.m. The train runs late about 56% of the time, according to Amtrak.“I think there needs to be more [trains]. Less stops and it’d be better,” passenger Henry Bell said.“It is a little inconvenient. It’s just so early and then so late,” passenger Yolba Valdez said. “But you just get to sit here and look at the views… and it’s way cheaper, with the gas prices.”TxDOT and Travis County are revisiting ideas for more transit, with two studies laying out options for more service on the existing route and building a new one. TxDOT estimates it would cost $2 billion to put more trains on the current tracks, while Travis County estimates a $13 billion price tag for a new route.Toni Harkins with San Antonians for Rail Transit said that a new route is the better choice long-term.“People, for some reason, think transit should at least pay for itself, if not make a profit,” she said. “We don’t expect that of highways. It’s considered a public good that benefits everyone. And we think rail is the same way.”No funding has been committed to either option yet. Harkins said San Antonians for Rail Transit plans to advocate for a new route in the upcoming state legislative session.</div></body>

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TEXAS — Building more rail between Texas cities is among the flurry of issues a newly blue state government is expected to take up in January, and it seems there are more calls than ever to do so. Currently, there is one two-way train a day between San Antonio...

Texas revisits calls for more passenger rail

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TEXAS — Building more rail between Texas cities is among the flurry of issues a newly blue state government is expected to take up in January, and it seems

Texas revisits calls for more passenger rail

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