Texas Bill Adds Momentum to Commuter Rail Plans

DALLAS — Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation designed to help commuter rail districts raise money across jurisdictional lines for bond-funded projects.

HB 3030 amends the state transportation code to expand the authority for an inter-municipal commuter rail district to enter into contracts for the financing of rail lines.

The measure, which takes effect Sept. 1, authorizes the creation of transportation infrastructure zones by one or more local governments. It also authorizes the use of money received by the district from a local government member to acquire property rights for underdeveloped lands in the transportation zone to be preserved for the benefit of the public.

The commuter rail districts can also establish tax-increment funds and the sale of bonds backed by the funds. Bond proceeds can be used to pay project costs for the zone or to satisfy claims of debt holders. The bill includes financial provisions relating to the tax-increment bonds and notes issued by a local government member of a district.

The measure goes into effect as the state’s major metropolitan areas advance plans for commuter rail lines and the Texas Department of Transportation continues its study of proposed high-speed rail corridors backed by federal funds.

Among witnesses testifying in favor of the bill were William Bingham, general counsel of the Lone Star Rail District, which covers the proposed route between San Antonio and Georgetown, north of Austin.

To run commuter trains on the existing Union Pacific corridor, the freight lines that are currently in use would probably have to be relocated.

Plans for the so-called LSTAR call for 90-minute express service from downtown Austin to downtown San Antonio, with stops in San Marcos and New Braunfels. The total distance of the route would be 120 miles.

Austin has recently started commuter rail service from its downtown to the Williamson County suburb of Leander.

In the Houston area, several commuter rail routes are under consideration, primarily one route that would run to Galveston Island to the south.

Other areas that are seeking to develop commuter rail lines include the Lower Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, which lie along the western tip of Texas.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which pioneered commuter rail with the Trinity Rail Express between the two cities, another route is in the process of development along the 62-mile Cotton Belt route that arcs from downtown Fort Worth to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and the northern suburbs of Dallas.

With the C already busy building its own light-rail routes, including one to DFW, the North Texas Council of Governments has taken the lead in planning the new commuter rail line through its Regional Transportation Council.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Transportation industry Texas
MORE FROM BOND BUYER