March 18, 2026 - TRA Newswire -

The 22nd Annual Southwestern Rail Conference, May 18-19 at the Hurst Texas Conference Center, will bring together an outstanding group of presenters to discuss important freight and passenger rail issues and new developments.

A special Early Bird rate of $299 for the 2-day conference is capacity controlled and will expire soon. Conference information and registration can be accessed at https://www.texasrailadvocates.org/events/2026-southwestern-rail-conference/

Texas Rail Advocates is pleased to have Federal Railroad Administrator David A. Fink speak, continuing a tradition of having the head of the FRA at the conference discussing important passenger and freight rail programs, plans and direction the agency is headed, especially with rail technology. Reshaping Amtrak is a new recent push by the FRA.

Noted rail analyst Tony Hatch tells it like it is. He was recently quoted as saying If railroads continue to improve their service levels and don’t shrink capacity too much during the current sluggishness, thereby setting themselves up to fail in the inevitable upturn — and if merger concessions don’t damage rail economics — then the future looks brighter than it appears. You just have to look hard to see it.

Then there's this small issue of a pending rail merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. The Surface Transportation Board's Karen Hedlund is right in the middle of it along with other decisions the STB has recently passed. A recent significant pro-competitive action: 49 C.F.R. part 1144, that governs the prescription of reciprocal switching, through routes, and through rates will reverberate through the freight rail industry.

The Texas Department of Transportation has released its first ever Statewide Multimodal Transit Plan and TxDOT Public Transportation Director Eric Gleason will explain how statewide transit on rubber tires and steel wheels must be considered for future modes. TxDOT Rail Division Director Don Franks has been busy with implementing rail grants for both freight and passenger rail projects and you'll hear the latest. 

The Southwestern Rail Conference will have a double-header called "On The Border":

It's been almost two decades since freight rail service across the Rio Grande in Southwest Texas came to an end. With the restoration of a new bridge at Presidio, Texas Pacifico's Stan Meador will talk about the long and winding road that will soon have international rail commerce restored on the South Orient Railroad.

In the second part of On The Border, Former Mission Texas Mayor Dr. Armando Ocaña will lay out how an organization only two years old is making strides in planning for passenger rail service in the Rio Grande Valley. 

Dallas Area Rapid Transit VP Trey Walker will walk attendees through from construction to revenue service on the recently opened DART Silver Line that links Collin County and eastern Dallas County with DFW International Airport. 

Another passenger rail success story is the Southern Rail Commission's new Mardi Gras service from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama that has broken Amtrak ridership records. City of Mobile's Stephen McNair and former President of Coastal Mississippi Board of Commissioners' Nikki Moon will show you how when you build it and you promote it, people will ride in big numbers. 

Special guests and attendees will be recognized at the Tuesday, May 19 luncheon. Lorena Campos, Texas Rail Advocates' boots on the ground in Austin, will have a legislative update. Watch for details of a Texas Legislative Caucus to help shape transportation policy in the 2027 state session. 

A panel will wrap up the two day conference discussing effective rail advocacy strategies with Lonny Stern, Executive Director of Movability in Austin and Katy Atkiss, Managing Director of Texas Streets Coalition.