Funds needed for rail district feasibility study
EDINBURG - The quiet freight railroad lines that divide many of Hidalgo County's cities down the middle might make an ideal pathway for a different type of rail.
A board formed last year to examine the possibility of bringing commuter rail to the Rio Grande Valley sees the existing track as a future spot for a fast, cost-effective commuter line, said Godfrey Garza, manager of Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 and newly elected chairman of the commuter rail district.
The existing freight lines - which transportation agencies have discussed relocating out of the urban areas - would be ideal for commuter rail by giving residents a convenient option to get from one end of the Valley to another.
It's one possibility the commuter rail district is considering as it develops plans to bring the Valley a transportation network similar to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, or DART, system in Dallas or the METRO system in Houston.
Hidalgo County's rail district has been slow to start operations since state Rep. Armando "Mando" Martinez, D-Weslaco, drafted a bill in the 2007 legislative session to allow the 13 counties along the Texas-Mexico border to create districts to study light rail networks.
The county created the commuter rail district in February last year, but the five-member board wasn't appointed until earlier this year.
The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court approved a plan this week to provide administrative services such as legal counsel and court reporter services to the rail district, which has no revenue stream at this point.
An operating commuter rail line is likely at least 10 years away from becoming a reality, said Garza, who was appointed to the rail district's board by Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Oscar Garza. But with highways expected to become more congested in the future and a pattern of growth that supports the use of alternate means of transportation, he said, commuter rail is viable in the Valley.
"I know it's going to be an option in the future simply because our community is so spread out," Garza said. "We've got a community that consists of dozens of cities, but we're spread out from here to Brownsville. Commuter rail is a better way to move people in our area."
But before commuter rail crosses the Valley, the rail district - which could become a taxing entity in the future - needs funds to examine the viability of the project.
The county has submitted a $500,000 earmark request to both state and federal legislators for a feasibility study to guide implementation of commuter rail in Hidalgo County and possibly from Starr County to Cameron County.
The earmark request, which points to rapid population growth, increased development and traffic and the proximity to Mexico as a basis for the rail district's creation, would fund a comprehensive study on the costs and demand for a commuter rail service.
The study would focus on the possibility of using existing railroad corridors for commuter rail, provide ridership forecasts and develop estimates of capital and operating costs.
The money for the study would allow the district to begin a preliminary evaluation of whether commuter rail can be successful in the Valley, said Agapito Vargas, the secretary-treasurer for the district. The district is contacting other transportation entities in the Valley to apprise them of its plans and see what assistance they can provide.
The project is not without barriers.
Light rail construction costs roughly $30 million a mile and is mainly funded with federal grants. Using the existing rail lines - assuming freight could be moved elsewhere, which is itself a costly prospect - would reduce some of those costs.
