August 25, 2024 - TRA Newswire -

You might not have known that U.S. 287 runs from the panhandle all the way down to Port Arthur, angling its way through Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Fort Worth, and East Texas down to the Gulf Coast. That’s 671 Texas miles long.

Sections of the U.S. highway parallel freight rail corridors and could be suitable for future passenger rail corridors as well. To make your voice heard, TxDOT is launching a public survey as part of the US 287 Corridor Interstate Feasibility Study and wants to hear from you, especially if you are interested in future multi-modal travel options.

Along the Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, Amarillo segment on U.S. 287 is a potential future passenger rail service as described in the Federal Railroad Administration's Proposed Network of Preferred Routes. The FRA's vision includes a future daily Amtrak passenger rail service from Houston, through the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The route would then parallel U.S. 287 through North Texas to Wichita Falls and Amarillo, with its end point in Denver. 

The study by the FRA is a crucial early step in a comprehensive process to identify the actions that may be needed to enhance long-distance service. The last train to serve towns and cities along this corridor was the Texas Zephyr, which ran until 1967, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q).

TxDOT is asking the public to participate in the survey to share their experiences traveling along the corridor, challenges for safety and mobility, and provide insights into priorities for U.S. 287. Your comments on future passenger rail service and any improvements that can be made in moving goods by freight rail will be added to the dialogue.

The public is also encouraged to leave comments about specific locations along the corridor on an interactive map. Both the survey and the interactive map will be available from Aug. 15 – Sept. 16 on the Study webpage: https://www.txdot.gov/projects/projects-studies/statewide/us287-corridor-interstate-feasibility-study.html.

You can submit comments concerning at-grade rail crossings that need to be improved, freight train congestion in the Beaumont-Port Arthur Southeast region, or consistently blocked rail crossings along with any other freight rail issue. 

A more targeted survey for private industry stakeholders will be distributed in September.

Image credit: TxDOT