DALLAS - The Fort Worth Transportation Authority is preparing to begin construction of its long-anticipated commuter rail line to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 2016 after receiving a thumbs up from two federal agencies.
The north Texas authority, which is known as the T, received a record of decision this week from the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Aviation Authority that allows initial work to begin on the 27-mile, $810 million TEX Rail project.
The decision by FTA and FAA means the agency can begin acquiring property for stations and other infrastructure along the route from Fort Worth to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and can contract with engineering services firms for work on the project, said T president Paul Ballard.
"It's an important step," Ballard said.
Acquisition of rail vehicles can begin as soon as FTA authorizes the agency to proceed with advanced engineering work, said T chairman Scott Mahaffey. Announcement by FTA of a full funding grant, which would allow construction to get underway, is expected in early 2016, he said.
The new rail line could be ready for service as early as 2018 if funding remains on schedule, Mahaffey said.
Federal funding is expected to cover more than half the project's cost, and includes FTA New Starts grants totaling $404.9 million and $62 million of traffic congestion mitigation grants from the Federal Highway Administration.
TEX Rail will receive an initial $50 million New Starts grant in fiscal 2015.
Local financial support for TEX Rail includes $96.3 million from the state's Texas Mobility Fund, $134.4 million from the T's dedicated 0.5% sales tax and cash reserves, $85.3 million from the city of Grapevine's 0.375% sales tax, $20 million from a $25 million bond package approved by Tarrant County voters in 2006, and $7 million from DFW Airport for the station at Terminal B.
A bill that would have created a special taxing district in the 22 cities along the rail corridor to fund TEX Rail failed to be considered by the 2013 Texas Legislature.
TEX Rail will extend from the existing Texas & Pacific Station in downtown Fort Worth through northeast Tarrant County to a station at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport's Terminal B.
Eventually the system could stretch 62 miles, from Interstate 20 in southern Tarrant County past DFW Airport to Plano in Collins County where it would connect with DART's light-rail system.
TEX Rail's diesel trains will run along the existing Cotton Belt Rail Corridor. The track right-of- way is owned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which will lease it to the T.
The Cotton Belt tracks are now used by freight trains and a tourist train, Grapevine's Tarantula Train.
The T expects 10,000 riders a day when rail service begins with eight stations along the line. By 2035 there will be 10 stations and more than 15,500 riders a day.
TEX Rail has been discussed and debated by Tarrant County residents and officials for more than 10 years. The route runs through the suburb of Colleyville, but it has declined to participate in the project and will be the only city along the route without a rail station.
T officials said the proposed rail line will provide better access to the airport and ease traffic congestion in the rapidly growing area.
Tarrant County's population increased by 30,000 people in the past 12 months, the U.S. Census Bureau said in July. The county has some 1.9 million residents, an increase of more than 450,000 since the 2000 census.
