January 21, 2018 - TRA Newswire -

The 14th annual Southwestern Rail Conference that just concluded Friday zeroed in on key rail projects that are either soon to start or waiting to be kick-started.

"We've never seen so many passenger rail oriented projects blossom in such a short time frame in Texas," according to Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody. He was referring to the Texas Central Dallas to Houston bullet train project ready to hold a final round of public meetings, the recently released I-35 Texas-Oklahoma corridor service study from the Federal Railroad Administration, Fort Worth's TEXRail downtown to DFW Airport train and two large DART rail projects that cover downtown and the northern side of Dallas and Southern Collin County. Houston could also see more expansion of their light rail system in the future.

"In addition we have a strong freight rail system in Texas with active port to train movements and a 2017 that finished up on a positive note for freight rail traffic," said LeCody.  pointed Presentations from the Texas Shortline and Regional Railroad Association demonstrated the need for more public-private partnerships to spur economic development in rural towns throughout the state.

Videos and Power Points from the Southwestern Rail Conference will be posted to the conference page in the coming weeks. The link is http://texasrailadvocates.org/2018-southwestern-rail-conference/