TxDOT Texas Rail Plan is available online.
Plans are required to qualify for federal rail programs for freight or passenger rail development. Updated plan lists specific projects that could be developed if state / federal funding is available.
April 2025 -The latest version of the Texas State Rail Plan is available on the Texas Department of Transportation website.
The comprehensive document provides an inventory and description of the assets of the Texas railroad network for railroads of all classes and for non-operating railroad owners that includes background and details about the physical and operating characteristics of each railroad and rail line segment in the state.
While the data in the rail plan can be used to gauge potential freight capacity and used as a tool to identify and prioritize potential rail infrastructure improvements, TxDOT continues to be constrained from planning and implementing any passenger rail projects in the state due to a lack of funding.
“The Rail Division runs with a small staff and ultra-small budget compared to the rest of the TxDOT empire. But let’s be fair, it’s not the fault of TxDOT”, according to Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody. “Without some level of dedicated funding from the Texas legislature most of the projects shown on the Rail Plan will not be built in the near future."
“There is keen interest for developing our rail system, both on the freight and passenger side with public, private and public-private partnerships,” said LeCody. “And most people don’t realize that with not even a kick-start funding mechanism the state has missed out on over $19 billion in the last decade that the federal government has apportioned to dozens of states that have a matching-fund program of some sort. Let me repeat that….. $19 billion dollars went to other states because there was no matching funds available for federal rail programs like we do day in and day out for highways.”
The Federal Railroad Administration requires states that want to participate in any federal programs to update their state rail plan on a periodic basis.
Public meetings were held in advance of the update. Texas Rail Advocates participated as a stakeholder in both freight and passenger rail discussions with the Texas Department of Transportation.