BlakeTyner
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
- Messages
- 93
On Friday, February 19, I had the opportunity to attend the meeting of the East Texas Corridor Council in Marshall. The meeting was held in the lobby of the restored Hotel Marshall. There was only one action item at the meeting, which I'll get to, but the keynote speaker was Bill Glavin, the TXDOT Rail Division Director (a new position at TXDOT.)
For his benefit, the Council presented a slideshow to bring him up to speed on what it is that we do, and I'll summarize that for y'all, too.
The ETCC's mission is "to develop a regional consensus for capacity investments to secure higher speed rail for the 8 million residents along the I-20 & US59 (I-69) corridors from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Arkansas and Louisiana border connections." This is not a bullet train group, but rather one that seeks enhanced capacity and frequency. The East Texas Council of Governments acts as the ETCC's administrative and fiscal agent.
As most of you know, the south central high speed rail corridor runs through our area, and we have been successful in adding the segment from Little Rock to Memphis to the south central corridor. Current plans are underway to add a segment from Marshall to Shreveport.
Near term goals for the ETCC are to "negotiate with host railroad [uP] for infrastructure and capacity improvements to permit additional freight and passenger schedules." In the long term, the ETCC is working to "double-track the East Texas corridor from Texarkana to Dallas and Marshall to Shreveport."
Current accomplishments: ETCC is a Texas Rail System Plan stakeholder. ETCC facilitated a memorandum of understanding between the East Texas, North Texas, and Louisiana regions.
Comparatively, in FY '08, the average late train at any East Texas Amtrak station was 2 hours and 52 minutes; as of FY '10, that has been cut to 25 minutes. (Source: Texas Eagle local revenue management team.) In FY '09, the Texas Eagle was up 4% in ridership and 2% in revenues (one of only 2 long-distance trains to produce both positive ridership and revenue growth; as of January 2010, the Texas Eagle is up 21.6% in ridership and 18.5% in revenue. (Ibid.)
Totaled, riders on/off at the East Texas stations (Texarkana, Marshall, Longview, and Mineola) exceed riders on/off in Dallas.
Average speed for the Texas Eagle is also up, to a whopping 35 MPH along US59 and 33 MPH along I-20.
Arkansas is getting into the mix, as well. Hope will be a scheduled stop for the Eagle, and Arkansas House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson has secured $100,000 in funding to begin a feasibility study of the Texarkana-Little Rock-Memphis segment of the corridor.
To put the ETCC in perspective, let me say this--our region lies outside of the "Texas Triangle" megaregion (as defined by the federal government.) We understand that true high speed rail will not be a realistic option for us. We're leaving the Texas T-Bone, TGV, etc. to those within the triangle. However, the ETCC understands that no rail transit system can truly exist without connections and feeders, and that's where our region comes into play. We're out to provide a seamless transition between conventional (yet higher speed) rail travel and the networks that are either envisioned or already in place.
Now, getting to the keynote speaker, Bill Glavin. He spoke about his railroad background--a longtime BN man with extensive experience in rail transportation. Very smart guy; well-spoken and realistic.
Perhaps the most interesting thing Mr. Glavin said was in regards to Texas being skunked earlier this year in the disbursement of FRA grants. He has conversed with the head of the FRA's grant division, and what she told him was telling: According to her, there were 8 states with one vision, and one state with 8 visions. While she didn't come right out and say it, it is obvious that Texas is lacking a unified vision for rail transit. This is something we know all too well--grassroots groups often compete against each other, nullifying the potential power of everyone.
The next real deadline for presenting the FRA a unified vision for Texas is August of 2010. Mr. Glavin will be holding stakeholder meetings with rail divisions, grassroots groups, etc., beginning in March. He is guardedly optimistic that through these meetings, Texans can emerge with a unified vision for the future of passenger (and freight) railroads in the state. This will, obviously, require everyone to give and take, and while the realities of politics can emerge quickly, there is hope. Texas is a key link in the national railroad system--not only within the strata of origination/destination, but as a cross-link through which much rail traffic passes.
I am personally very optimistic about the TXDOT's involvement in railroading. It is, unfortunately, later than the ideal, but it seems as though the state is finally getting on the ball. We do not yet know the wheres and whens of the rail stakeholder meetings, but he promised to keep us informed. I was impressed with the man.
In other news: the action item at the meeting was a MOU between TXDOT, ETCC, and ETCOG for a partnership to address passenger railroad issues in East Texas. In brief, the MOU allows the ETCC, through ETCOG, to spend the $700,000 in federal appropriations/grants obtained in FY '09. TXDOT has oversight, and has received permission to allocate the funds from the Federal Highway Administration to the FRA for its assistance and oversight. TXDOT will be the lead agency in the feasibility study concerning passenger rail service on our corridor. The study will initially be to increase frequency by 2 daily trips between Shreveport and Dallas-Ft. Worth on Union Pacific's tracks. The study will examine schedule changes, construction, etc. A ridership study will also be undertaken. Amtrak will perform the study by contract.
All in all, a good day for us.
I'll be attending the next TEMPO meeting and will report what I can to you guys sometime within the next two weeks. (Obviously, there is a lot of information that will be of a confidential nature, but anything I can report I will.) As you know, the expansion of the Texas Eagle to daily service from Chicago to Los Angeles is currently in Union Pacific's hands. I do have it on good authority that the train WILL BE keeping the Texas Eagle name.
For his benefit, the Council presented a slideshow to bring him up to speed on what it is that we do, and I'll summarize that for y'all, too.
The ETCC's mission is "to develop a regional consensus for capacity investments to secure higher speed rail for the 8 million residents along the I-20 & US59 (I-69) corridors from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Arkansas and Louisiana border connections." This is not a bullet train group, but rather one that seeks enhanced capacity and frequency. The East Texas Council of Governments acts as the ETCC's administrative and fiscal agent.
As most of you know, the south central high speed rail corridor runs through our area, and we have been successful in adding the segment from Little Rock to Memphis to the south central corridor. Current plans are underway to add a segment from Marshall to Shreveport.
Near term goals for the ETCC are to "negotiate with host railroad [uP] for infrastructure and capacity improvements to permit additional freight and passenger schedules." In the long term, the ETCC is working to "double-track the East Texas corridor from Texarkana to Dallas and Marshall to Shreveport."
Current accomplishments: ETCC is a Texas Rail System Plan stakeholder. ETCC facilitated a memorandum of understanding between the East Texas, North Texas, and Louisiana regions.
Comparatively, in FY '08, the average late train at any East Texas Amtrak station was 2 hours and 52 minutes; as of FY '10, that has been cut to 25 minutes. (Source: Texas Eagle local revenue management team.) In FY '09, the Texas Eagle was up 4% in ridership and 2% in revenues (one of only 2 long-distance trains to produce both positive ridership and revenue growth; as of January 2010, the Texas Eagle is up 21.6% in ridership and 18.5% in revenue. (Ibid.)
Totaled, riders on/off at the East Texas stations (Texarkana, Marshall, Longview, and Mineola) exceed riders on/off in Dallas.
Average speed for the Texas Eagle is also up, to a whopping 35 MPH along US59 and 33 MPH along I-20.
Arkansas is getting into the mix, as well. Hope will be a scheduled stop for the Eagle, and Arkansas House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson has secured $100,000 in funding to begin a feasibility study of the Texarkana-Little Rock-Memphis segment of the corridor.
To put the ETCC in perspective, let me say this--our region lies outside of the "Texas Triangle" megaregion (as defined by the federal government.) We understand that true high speed rail will not be a realistic option for us. We're leaving the Texas T-Bone, TGV, etc. to those within the triangle. However, the ETCC understands that no rail transit system can truly exist without connections and feeders, and that's where our region comes into play. We're out to provide a seamless transition between conventional (yet higher speed) rail travel and the networks that are either envisioned or already in place.
Now, getting to the keynote speaker, Bill Glavin. He spoke about his railroad background--a longtime BN man with extensive experience in rail transportation. Very smart guy; well-spoken and realistic.
Perhaps the most interesting thing Mr. Glavin said was in regards to Texas being skunked earlier this year in the disbursement of FRA grants. He has conversed with the head of the FRA's grant division, and what she told him was telling: According to her, there were 8 states with one vision, and one state with 8 visions. While she didn't come right out and say it, it is obvious that Texas is lacking a unified vision for rail transit. This is something we know all too well--grassroots groups often compete against each other, nullifying the potential power of everyone.
The next real deadline for presenting the FRA a unified vision for Texas is August of 2010. Mr. Glavin will be holding stakeholder meetings with rail divisions, grassroots groups, etc., beginning in March. He is guardedly optimistic that through these meetings, Texans can emerge with a unified vision for the future of passenger (and freight) railroads in the state. This will, obviously, require everyone to give and take, and while the realities of politics can emerge quickly, there is hope. Texas is a key link in the national railroad system--not only within the strata of origination/destination, but as a cross-link through which much rail traffic passes.
I am personally very optimistic about the TXDOT's involvement in railroading. It is, unfortunately, later than the ideal, but it seems as though the state is finally getting on the ball. We do not yet know the wheres and whens of the rail stakeholder meetings, but he promised to keep us informed. I was impressed with the man.
In other news: the action item at the meeting was a MOU between TXDOT, ETCC, and ETCOG for a partnership to address passenger railroad issues in East Texas. In brief, the MOU allows the ETCC, through ETCOG, to spend the $700,000 in federal appropriations/grants obtained in FY '09. TXDOT has oversight, and has received permission to allocate the funds from the Federal Highway Administration to the FRA for its assistance and oversight. TXDOT will be the lead agency in the feasibility study concerning passenger rail service on our corridor. The study will initially be to increase frequency by 2 daily trips between Shreveport and Dallas-Ft. Worth on Union Pacific's tracks. The study will examine schedule changes, construction, etc. A ridership study will also be undertaken. Amtrak will perform the study by contract.
All in all, a good day for us.
I'll be attending the next TEMPO meeting and will report what I can to you guys sometime within the next two weeks. (Obviously, there is a lot of information that will be of a confidential nature, but anything I can report I will.) As you know, the expansion of the Texas Eagle to daily service from Chicago to Los Angeles is currently in Union Pacific's hands. I do have it on good authority that the train WILL BE keeping the Texas Eagle name.
Last edited by a moderator:
