February 17, 2025 - TRA Newswire -

A growing North Texas is dependent on a share of federal funds to complete needed transportation projects and leaders are wondering when those dollars will be released.

Rail projects, as well as road improvements, are waiting to be funded as the new administration puts each one under a federal microscope to make sure that tax dollars are being spent wisely.  

One of the rail projects planned that requires some federal funding would add a second track to the popular Trinity Railway Express that runs from Dallas to Forth Worth. The second track would allow for improved service. The railway carried some 1.1 million riders last year between the two major cities. 

In a statement to fortworthreport.org, Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments and staff director to the Regional Transportation Council, said “The Regional Transportation Council, as the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for Dallas-Fort Worth, remains committed to working with our local, state and federal partners on transportation solutions that will allow our transportation system to efficiently meet the needs of our growing region while improving the quality of life we value as North Texans."

Adding to the uncertainty of when funds will be released, U.S. Representative. Jake Ellzey (R-Waxahachie), opposes the TRE second track expansion project. The TRE would terminate at Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station in Dallas, which is near where a proposed high-speed Dallas to Houston high-speed rail project would run.

For better or worse, Ellzey has tied the TRE project to the Texas Central /Amtrak bullet train project and has written to the Federal Railroad Administration in opposition to the regional rail service expansion, a separate project from the high-speed train.

Ellzey said in his December 17th letter "The key issue is that the TRE line ends at Union Station in Dallas, an Amtrak station intended to be the starting point for a proposed Dallas to Houston high speed rail boondoggle (his words). The FRA directing taxpayer funds that are in any way connected to the Dallas to Houston high speed rail project would be foolish and counterproductive to Texas’ transportation needs.” 

TRE's double-track project would also include new bridges and eliminate some dangerous railroad-vehicle grade crossings, giving motorists more relief on crowded metroplex highways. 

Photo credit DART: Trinity Railway Express at EBJ Dallas Union Station