March 18, 2025 - TRA Commentary -

It's not going to get any easier to drive from north of Austin to south of San Antonio, and in between the next decade is going to be a nightmare of construction, delays and disappointment for drivers. 

Marc Williams, TxDOT Executive Director, speaking at the 2024 Regional Transportation Summit in San Marcos said "The work will never conclude on Interstate 35 between Austin and San Antonio, I can say that pretty definitively," he said. "The demand, the growth, the population, the business, the commerce, it brings that about. This region really has been and continues to be not only a hub of commerce, but a hub of the population growth that comes along with that," Williams said. "The demand on us is really to keep pace."

That's why it's important this legislative session to look at passenger rail for the overloaded I-35 corridor. County judges in Travis and Bexar County feel their constituents current and future transportation pains and have started to make the legislature aware that passenger rail is now a priority.

A $300 million kickstart state appropriation is needed to get the ball rolling. That's less than 1.4% of the current legislative session's budget surplus and it would go a long way in being able to apply for matching federal rail grants for intercity passenger rail development.

There's plenty of history to back the need for rail service.

• A bipartisan group of 20 state lawmakers in Central Texas asked to start the process to initiate intercity passenger rail service in the Austin-San Antonio corridor in 2019.
• Voters approved the Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund (Fund 0306) over a decade ago.
• A TxDOT survey of over 2,000 Texans back in 2011 showed the public wants passenger rail service in the corridor.

The San Antonio-Austin corridor has become one of the fastest growing regions, with significant growth in Comal, Hays, and Guadalupe counties.

It's now 2025. We have the funds available. Isn't it time to make this a priority at the legislature ?