Sunday, March 22, 2009
An Inventory of Records at the Texas State Archives, 1970-1995 (bulk 1990-1994)
Records of the Texas High Speed Rail Corporation in the Archives of Texas
MegaRail High Speed Rail alternative to Trans Texas Corridor
Content from MegaRail Corporate website
Note: Claims have not been verified by DFWRCC or Texas Rail editors
120-mph Non-stop Passenger, Automobile & Cargo Service in Single System over Existent Highway Rights of Way
Low-cost alternate to costly projects such as Texas Corridor Plan
* High-speed, inter-city MegaRail can carry most inter-city passenger, cargo and automobile traffic on a single pair of small, low-cost guideways installed over interstate highway rights of way.
* Avoids the very high cost of additional highways and railroads and right-of-way.
* High-speed, inter-city MegaRail is low-cost, low-risk and near-term.
* Rubber tires in enclosed rail tubes and electric propulsion for noise-free operation.
* Electrically powered vehicles with rail-supplied power are non-polluting.
* Heavy-duty CargoRail guideways can be added over same interstate right-of-ways to transport large trucks and containers should future need arise.
Note: Claims have not been verified by DFWRCC or Texas Rail editors
120-mph Non-stop Passenger, Automobile & Cargo Service in Single System over Existent Highway Rights of Way
Low-cost alternate to costly projects such as Texas Corridor Plan
* High-speed, inter-city MegaRail can carry most inter-city passenger, cargo and automobile traffic on a single pair of small, low-cost guideways installed over interstate highway rights of way.
* Avoids the very high cost of additional highways and railroads and right-of-way.
* High-speed, inter-city MegaRail is low-cost, low-risk and near-term.
* Rubber tires in enclosed rail tubes and electric propulsion for noise-free operation.
* Electrically powered vehicles with rail-supplied power are non-polluting.
* Heavy-duty CargoRail guideways can be added over same interstate right-of-ways to transport large trucks and containers should future need arise.
Landowners question high-speed rail
By Peggy Fikac - San Antonio Express-News - 2/08/2009
AUSTIN — For travelers, a 200-mph train connecting San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth may sound like a dream. But for some landowners along the proposed Texas T-Bone high-speed rail route, it's a question mark that they fear could easily turn into a nightmare.
“From a rural, agricultural standpoint, we're very concerned. It just seems like every time we turn around, someone's got us in their cross hairs,” said Central Texas farmer Richard Cortese, a Bell County commissioner and a leader in the Texas Farm Bureau.
Despite efforts by high-speed rail backers to build a partnership with local communities, some landowners are wary, partly because the fresh rail push comes after heated battles over the Trans-Texas Corridor, a massive proposal pushed by Gov. Rick Perry for a network of highways, tollways, pipelines and rails.
State officials recently buried the Trans-Texas Corridor's name after a backlash from property owners who feared their land would be devalued or taken. But “it hasn't gone away,” Cortese said.
“If you were to take a template of the Trans-Texas Corridor and lay it over this high-speed rail issue, I think you would find that many of the concerns would be very much the same,” said the Texas Farm Bureau's Gene Hall. “Fixing eminent domain (strengthening private property rights) is the first step toward increasing our comfort level with any of these projects.”
Several proposals are percolating in the Legislature to strengthen property rights. Hall said one key element is to ensure that property owners are compensated not only when they're forced to sell their land for a public project but when access to their property is diminished, affecting its value.
Besides the property-rights concern, Ralph Snyder of Snyder Salvage in Holland raised issues including train noise and who'd be on the hook for mitigating it.
He and Cortese said they understand the need for transportation in a growing state but that they want a detailed plan before making up their minds about the $12 billion to $18 billion rail proposal that would follow the Texas T-Bone — from Dallas-Fort Worth through Austin to San Antonio and branching off in Temple to go to Houston.
“We haven't seen any financial prototypes on this. I think that's our concern,” said Cortese, with questions including the expense to local governments if they're responsible for train stations.
Backers envision a project that's primarily privately financed but stems from a partnership with local governments. They'd like to have it running by 2020.
This legislative session, they're asking for state help, including tax exemptions for companies that would build the project.
“There's a perception about rural people that they are backward and they don't understand the problem. That's just simply not true,” Snyder said. “They want the studies done before a project is undertaken to make sure the right thing is being done.”
A key high-speed rail backer said details still are being developed because supporters want to ensure the proposal bubbles up from communities instead of being seen as handed down from the state capital.
“We want to involve the communities and the counties and the interest groups in that planning process, as opposed to ‘You bring this back when you have a plan and then we'll shoot at it,'” said Temple Mayor Bill Jones, vice chairman of the nonprofit Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp.
Local communities will decide whether to contribute financially to such things as building a train station, he said.
Among key points, Jones noted the consortium includes elected leaders, cities and counties, among others, and that backers have said they want to elevate the rail where necessary to reduce the effect on property.
“We are committing as best we can possibly commit at this stage to elevate as much of the system as we can where it's necessary,” Jones said.
Property owners said the prospect of the rail being elevated would help address their concerns because it would allow access to land on both sides of the track.
Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, chairman of the nonprofit corporation, said the group is sensitive to local concerns and would want to stay along existing routes and minimize the infringement on private property. “It's not only good politics,” Eckels said. “It's cheaper that way.”
Read more in the San Antonio Express-News
AUSTIN — For travelers, a 200-mph train connecting San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth may sound like a dream. But for some landowners along the proposed Texas T-Bone high-speed rail route, it's a question mark that they fear could easily turn into a nightmare.
“From a rural, agricultural standpoint, we're very concerned. It just seems like every time we turn around, someone's got us in their cross hairs,” said Central Texas farmer Richard Cortese, a Bell County commissioner and a leader in the Texas Farm Bureau.
Despite efforts by high-speed rail backers to build a partnership with local communities, some landowners are wary, partly because the fresh rail push comes after heated battles over the Trans-Texas Corridor, a massive proposal pushed by Gov. Rick Perry for a network of highways, tollways, pipelines and rails.
State officials recently buried the Trans-Texas Corridor's name after a backlash from property owners who feared their land would be devalued or taken. But “it hasn't gone away,” Cortese said.
“If you were to take a template of the Trans-Texas Corridor and lay it over this high-speed rail issue, I think you would find that many of the concerns would be very much the same,” said the Texas Farm Bureau's Gene Hall. “Fixing eminent domain (strengthening private property rights) is the first step toward increasing our comfort level with any of these projects.”
Several proposals are percolating in the Legislature to strengthen property rights. Hall said one key element is to ensure that property owners are compensated not only when they're forced to sell their land for a public project but when access to their property is diminished, affecting its value.
Besides the property-rights concern, Ralph Snyder of Snyder Salvage in Holland raised issues including train noise and who'd be on the hook for mitigating it.
He and Cortese said they understand the need for transportation in a growing state but that they want a detailed plan before making up their minds about the $12 billion to $18 billion rail proposal that would follow the Texas T-Bone — from Dallas-Fort Worth through Austin to San Antonio and branching off in Temple to go to Houston.
“We haven't seen any financial prototypes on this. I think that's our concern,” said Cortese, with questions including the expense to local governments if they're responsible for train stations.
Backers envision a project that's primarily privately financed but stems from a partnership with local governments. They'd like to have it running by 2020.
This legislative session, they're asking for state help, including tax exemptions for companies that would build the project.
“There's a perception about rural people that they are backward and they don't understand the problem. That's just simply not true,” Snyder said. “They want the studies done before a project is undertaken to make sure the right thing is being done.”
A key high-speed rail backer said details still are being developed because supporters want to ensure the proposal bubbles up from communities instead of being seen as handed down from the state capital.
“We want to involve the communities and the counties and the interest groups in that planning process, as opposed to ‘You bring this back when you have a plan and then we'll shoot at it,'” said Temple Mayor Bill Jones, vice chairman of the nonprofit Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp.
Local communities will decide whether to contribute financially to such things as building a train station, he said.
Among key points, Jones noted the consortium includes elected leaders, cities and counties, among others, and that backers have said they want to elevate the rail where necessary to reduce the effect on property.
“We are committing as best we can possibly commit at this stage to elevate as much of the system as we can where it's necessary,” Jones said.
Property owners said the prospect of the rail being elevated would help address their concerns because it would allow access to land on both sides of the track.
Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, chairman of the nonprofit corporation, said the group is sensitive to local concerns and would want to stay along existing routes and minimize the infringement on private property. “It's not only good politics,” Eckels said. “It's cheaper that way.”
Read more in the San Antonio Express-News
Monday, July 7, 2008
High speed rail plan put to sniff test
By Paul A. Romer - The Temple-Telegram Staff Writer - July 6, 2008
BELTON - The best way to describe a meeting between high speed rail proponents and Bell County commissioners last week may be to compare them to two dogs that approach each other, sniff around for a while and then choose to go in different directions.
Officials from both organizations used careful language after the Monday meeting to describe exactly what occurred but their words were measured, possibly to preserve political relationships for future considerations.
It may be more beneficial to the people of Bell County to know what didn’t occur.
The Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp. would like Bell County to become a dues paying member of the corporation, which is taking its message all around the state that now is the time for high speed rail in Texas. But an invitation for Bell County to come aboard for the ride was not extended.
Maybe it was the tepid response from commissioners that curtailed the invitation, but paperwork describing the benefits of such membership was contained in packets of information distributed to commissioners before the meeting.
Two Bell County cities, Killeen and Temple, are already spending taxpayer money to support the rail corporation’s efforts in bringing high speed rail, dubbed the Texas T-Bone Corridor, to the state. Each city pays annual membership dues of $25,000.
The rail corporation is proposing that two high speed rail lines be built: one from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to San Antonio and the other from Houston to Fort Hood. The lines would cross in the Temple area.
This fiscal year the rail corporation will bring in $210,000 in membership dues, according to officials. At this point the dues appear to be used almost exclusively to promote the idea.
“We are working to plan this,” Bill Jones III, Temple mayor and corporation vice chairman, said to commissioners. “We don’t have all the answers. We’re doing nothing but raising dues that support us to get the word out right now.”
None of the Bell County commissioners spoke in favor of the proposal. Each had questions that when considered together helped show the high speed rail project for what it is: a speculative proposal that is in its infancy.
Eddy Lange, commissioner in Precinct 3, spoke with the most passion against high speed rail.
“The timing could not be worse coming right off the tail of the Trans-Texas Corridor,” he said. “I’m open (to new ideas) but right now I’m not coming out in support of this. It would be political suicide for any of us.”
Lange said he felt sure his constituents in eastern Bell County would be against selling their land so that rail infrastructure could be built. He said his constituents would even be against an above ground rail that would help preserve farmland.
In its promotional materials the rail corporation identifies more than 20 congressional and legislative supporters - including U.S. Rep. John Carter - but it is unclear the level of support of these state and national leaders.
Some have written letters supporting the concept of high speed rail, encouraging the rail corporation to combine private and public resources to see if it has potential to benefit Texas. Others believe high speed rail is coming and want it in their state or district first.
Tim Brown, commissioner for Precinct 2, said the transportation model in Texas is very different from the model where similar trains are operating in Asia and Europe. The population in Texas is more spread out than other regions using high speed rail.
And Brown doesn’t believe the train would make a substantial impact on highway traffic. He said it would compete more directly with small airports.
“This could put our small airports out of business,” said Richard Cortese, commissioner for Precinct 1.
Brown said it is time that the corporation move past concepts and start compiling data to see if such a project is even feasible.
“I understand the concepts; I’d like to see the numbers,” he said. “We need to know if it can work. Right now there is a line on the map drawn up by the people who have given money.”
County Judge Jon Burrows intimated that the county would like to be involved early on with a venture that would relieve future highway congestion and provide more transportation options to residents but at this point he doubts that the organization would have the political clout to bring the T of the T-Bone through Bell County. He said a more logical route might be from Houston to Austin.
“My concern is the political realities,” Burrows said. “If this thing gets close to happening, Austin and San Antonio may come forward with fistfuls of money and Bell County could be left out.”
Comments made by John Fisher, commissioner for Precinct 4, seemed to support Burrow’s position. Fisher asked the group who they had spoken to at Fort Hood. He said he has not talked to a single official from the base who said high speed rail was an option for the Army moving its freight.
Jones said the rail line may prove most useful to families and soldiers traveling to and from Fort Hood.
The annual meeting of the rail corporation is scheduled for Aug. 13 in Irving. The meeting will include a year-end review, overview of fact-finding missions to areas with high speed rail and legislative planning for 2009.
The corporation has a goal of bringing high speed rail to the state by 2020, which critics say may not be possible.
Brown estimates that it would take 10 years to do an environmental analysis of the area where the track would run and another 10 years to build it.
To accomplish its objectives the rail corporation would have to move at a pace much faster than what government is generally accustomed to. Jones says the project can meet its objectives if the public and private sector work together.
“We’re out of the station. We’re quickly picking up momentum,” he said.
Read more in the Temple-Telegram
BELTON - The best way to describe a meeting between high speed rail proponents and Bell County commissioners last week may be to compare them to two dogs that approach each other, sniff around for a while and then choose to go in different directions.
Officials from both organizations used careful language after the Monday meeting to describe exactly what occurred but their words were measured, possibly to preserve political relationships for future considerations.
It may be more beneficial to the people of Bell County to know what didn’t occur.
The Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp. would like Bell County to become a dues paying member of the corporation, which is taking its message all around the state that now is the time for high speed rail in Texas. But an invitation for Bell County to come aboard for the ride was not extended.
Maybe it was the tepid response from commissioners that curtailed the invitation, but paperwork describing the benefits of such membership was contained in packets of information distributed to commissioners before the meeting.
Two Bell County cities, Killeen and Temple, are already spending taxpayer money to support the rail corporation’s efforts in bringing high speed rail, dubbed the Texas T-Bone Corridor, to the state. Each city pays annual membership dues of $25,000.
The rail corporation is proposing that two high speed rail lines be built: one from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to San Antonio and the other from Houston to Fort Hood. The lines would cross in the Temple area.
This fiscal year the rail corporation will bring in $210,000 in membership dues, according to officials. At this point the dues appear to be used almost exclusively to promote the idea.
“We are working to plan this,” Bill Jones III, Temple mayor and corporation vice chairman, said to commissioners. “We don’t have all the answers. We’re doing nothing but raising dues that support us to get the word out right now.”
None of the Bell County commissioners spoke in favor of the proposal. Each had questions that when considered together helped show the high speed rail project for what it is: a speculative proposal that is in its infancy.
Eddy Lange, commissioner in Precinct 3, spoke with the most passion against high speed rail.
“The timing could not be worse coming right off the tail of the Trans-Texas Corridor,” he said. “I’m open (to new ideas) but right now I’m not coming out in support of this. It would be political suicide for any of us.”
Lange said he felt sure his constituents in eastern Bell County would be against selling their land so that rail infrastructure could be built. He said his constituents would even be against an above ground rail that would help preserve farmland.
In its promotional materials the rail corporation identifies more than 20 congressional and legislative supporters - including U.S. Rep. John Carter - but it is unclear the level of support of these state and national leaders.
Some have written letters supporting the concept of high speed rail, encouraging the rail corporation to combine private and public resources to see if it has potential to benefit Texas. Others believe high speed rail is coming and want it in their state or district first.
Tim Brown, commissioner for Precinct 2, said the transportation model in Texas is very different from the model where similar trains are operating in Asia and Europe. The population in Texas is more spread out than other regions using high speed rail.
And Brown doesn’t believe the train would make a substantial impact on highway traffic. He said it would compete more directly with small airports.
“This could put our small airports out of business,” said Richard Cortese, commissioner for Precinct 1.
Brown said it is time that the corporation move past concepts and start compiling data to see if such a project is even feasible.
“I understand the concepts; I’d like to see the numbers,” he said. “We need to know if it can work. Right now there is a line on the map drawn up by the people who have given money.”
County Judge Jon Burrows intimated that the county would like to be involved early on with a venture that would relieve future highway congestion and provide more transportation options to residents but at this point he doubts that the organization would have the political clout to bring the T of the T-Bone through Bell County. He said a more logical route might be from Houston to Austin.
“My concern is the political realities,” Burrows said. “If this thing gets close to happening, Austin and San Antonio may come forward with fistfuls of money and Bell County could be left out.”
Comments made by John Fisher, commissioner for Precinct 4, seemed to support Burrow’s position. Fisher asked the group who they had spoken to at Fort Hood. He said he has not talked to a single official from the base who said high speed rail was an option for the Army moving its freight.
Jones said the rail line may prove most useful to families and soldiers traveling to and from Fort Hood.
The annual meeting of the rail corporation is scheduled for Aug. 13 in Irving. The meeting will include a year-end review, overview of fact-finding missions to areas with high speed rail and legislative planning for 2009.
The corporation has a goal of bringing high speed rail to the state by 2020, which critics say may not be possible.
Brown estimates that it would take 10 years to do an environmental analysis of the area where the track would run and another 10 years to build it.
To accomplish its objectives the rail corporation would have to move at a pace much faster than what government is generally accustomed to. Jones says the project can meet its objectives if the public and private sector work together.
“We’re out of the station. We’re quickly picking up momentum,” he said.
Read more in the Temple-Telegram
Thursday, June 26, 2008
CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE HOLDS HEARING TO STRENGTHEN RAIL SECURITY
Jackson Lee Holds Hearing In New York City, Examining Rail Systems To Enhance Rail Security Nationwide
By Office of Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee - April 25, 2008
Brooklyn, New York- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, released the following statement at a hearing, at the Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza Branch, in New York City entitled “Protecting the Mass Transit Critical Infrastructure in New York City and in the Nation:”
Read press release
By Office of Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee - April 25, 2008
Brooklyn, New York- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, released the following statement at a hearing, at the Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza Branch, in New York City entitled “Protecting the Mass Transit Critical Infrastructure in New York City and in the Nation:”
“As we all know, securing mass transit in this country is critical to ensuring that we protect the American public from terrorists. Each weekday, 11.3 million passengers in 35 metropolitan areas and 22 states use commuter rail. It is imperative that we in Congress continue to give those on the frontlines the tools they need to continue to protect the traveling public..
“Until recently, the Department of Homeland Security has focused almost exclusively on aviation security. However, we in Congress changed that focus with the enactment of the 9/11 legislation last August. The law now mandates that TSA put more focus on surface transportation security. The requirements of the 9/11 legislation include expanded transportation grant criteria, protocols for frontline employee training, authorization for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response Teams, increases in surface transportation security inspectors, and many other improvements that will help to make our nation’s mass transit systems safer.
“Today, in New York City, home to the largest mass transit system in America, we are here to discuss how we can continue to make mass transit safe for Americans. New York has been on the forefront of securing mass transit for many years. As the site of ground zero, the State of New York, the NYPD, Amtrak, Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Port Authority, and all of the frontline workers who work the subways, the trains, buses, bridges and tunnels are all keenly aware of how important their jobs are, and what must continue to be done. We in Congress are your partners in ensuring that you have the tools needed to secure surface modes of transportation. We have already accomplished much in the passage of the 9/11 bill, but surely our work continues. The dialogue we have today gives those of us in Congress the opportunity to hear directly from those who work these issues on the ground, so that we can continue to be a resource for you. I would like to thank Commissioner Kelly and Deputy Secretary Balboni for sharing their perspectives with us today.
“The lessons we learn during this process can help secure transportation across the nation. In my district, in Houston TX, we have the METRO system that transports thousands of people around the downtown Houston area everyday. While that system is different in many ways from what exists here in New York, there are common threads that we can share to make sure all mass transit systems have access to the most effective and innovative methods of security. I am pleased that Chief Thomas Lambert is here today to share with us his perspective.
“However, as we focus on security operations, methods, and technology- we should not forget the frontline workers who are the eyes and ears of any security operation. We must continue to ensure that they get the training and worker protections they need to do their jobs effectively. I am pleased that James Little of TWU is here to share that perspective with us
“History has shown us that terrorists view rail and public transportation systems as potential targets. London, Madrid, Mumbai- have fallen victim to attacks on rail and mass transit. These attacks have killed and maimed thousands. Even more devastation could be caused by a successful attack on our mass transit system. Further, this threat is always present. In January of this year, a plot was thwarted to attack the Barcelona Public Transit system. This attempted attack is yet another reminder that we must remain vigilant.
“While we continue to make strides in securing our nation, we must not neglect any part of our transportation infrastructure, which includes our rail and mass transit systems. As we closely examine the New York City’s mass transit rail system, my goal is to extract important finds and lessons learned and create ways to apply them across the nation to strengthen rail security.”
Read press release
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
DART sees 5 percent rise in train passengers
By JUSTIN FARMER - WFAA-TV - Wed., June 25, 2008
DALLAS - The rising price of gasoline has more people in the Dallas area relying on mass transit.
That pleases DART but also offers challenges as it tailors routes to riders' needs.
North Texans love their trucks and SUVs but maybe with gas at $4 a gallon, habits are changing.
The number of passengers on DART trains was up 5 percent last month.
The number of passengers on the TRE which runs between Dallas and Fort Worth was up 7 percent.
May represented the busiest month ever for DART trains - so busy that the parking lots in Plano and Garland were often full.
DART says if this happens to you, then drive to the next DART stop.
DART's future was in doubt in the early 1990s but now is being talked about as brighter than ever.
"We have the largest rail system currently under construction in North America," said DART spokesperson, Mark Ball.
"The 28-mile system is seeing condominiums and restaurants and all kinds of development that DART has nothing to do with, adjacent to our rail system. It's exciting thinking about in the very near future, those are the areas we are going to be servicing and those are the people who are going to be riding on DART," he added.
Read more on WFAA NEWS
DALLAS - The rising price of gasoline has more people in the Dallas area relying on mass transit.
That pleases DART but also offers challenges as it tailors routes to riders' needs.
North Texans love their trucks and SUVs but maybe with gas at $4 a gallon, habits are changing.
The number of passengers on DART trains was up 5 percent last month.
The number of passengers on the TRE which runs between Dallas and Fort Worth was up 7 percent.
May represented the busiest month ever for DART trains - so busy that the parking lots in Plano and Garland were often full.
DART says if this happens to you, then drive to the next DART stop.
DART's future was in doubt in the early 1990s but now is being talked about as brighter than ever.
"We have the largest rail system currently under construction in North America," said DART spokesperson, Mark Ball.
"The 28-mile system is seeing condominiums and restaurants and all kinds of development that DART has nothing to do with, adjacent to our rail system. It's exciting thinking about in the very near future, those are the areas we are going to be servicing and those are the people who are going to be riding on DART," he added.
Read more on WFAA NEWS
Friday, April 25, 2008
Suburban rail network causes friction
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER - The Dallas Morning News - Friday, April 11, 2008
Elected officials and business leaders appeared no closer to a consensus Thursday over how to find at least $400 million it would take annually to pay for a huge suburban rail network.
A push to get the Legislature to permit cities to increase sales taxes by up to a penny to pay for the 239-mile rail network has failed in the past two sessions, but supporters insist the plan is more necessary than ever. Many of its key backers are pressing to put the issue before the Legislature again next year, though key Dallas area senators have said it is likely to fail again.
Thursday's meeting in Arlington only underscored the deep differences between elected officials and leading business interests over how to pay for the plan.
Top businesses, including Texas Instruments and other North Texas corporate leaders, have flatly opposed an increase of any amount to the sales tax rates.
Bill Alloway, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, said told those gathered Thursday that the business community remains flatly opposed to any sales tax increase. In a statement distributed at the meeting, the association said, "the case for increasing the cap on local sales taxes has not been made. We will continue to oppose any increase in that cap in light of the compelling state interest in the sales tax and the existence of other viable local options."
There were wide differences between elected officials as well.
"I don't think that there is a snowball's chance in you know where that the people of Collin County would support a sales tax increase," said Plano City Council member Loretta Ellerbe.
The leaders narrowed funding options to five options, and will meet again April 28 to discuss them. Those options range from continuing to push for a sales tax increase, to raising property taxes, to imposing car registration fees of more than $100.
The suburban rail service, if funded, would begin operating in 2025, or perhaps 2030, its backers said.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News
Elected officials and business leaders appeared no closer to a consensus Thursday over how to find at least $400 million it would take annually to pay for a huge suburban rail network.
A push to get the Legislature to permit cities to increase sales taxes by up to a penny to pay for the 239-mile rail network has failed in the past two sessions, but supporters insist the plan is more necessary than ever. Many of its key backers are pressing to put the issue before the Legislature again next year, though key Dallas area senators have said it is likely to fail again.
Thursday's meeting in Arlington only underscored the deep differences between elected officials and leading business interests over how to pay for the plan.
Top businesses, including Texas Instruments and other North Texas corporate leaders, have flatly opposed an increase of any amount to the sales tax rates.
Bill Alloway, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, said told those gathered Thursday that the business community remains flatly opposed to any sales tax increase. In a statement distributed at the meeting, the association said, "the case for increasing the cap on local sales taxes has not been made. We will continue to oppose any increase in that cap in light of the compelling state interest in the sales tax and the existence of other viable local options."
There were wide differences between elected officials as well.
"I don't think that there is a snowball's chance in you know where that the people of Collin County would support a sales tax increase," said Plano City Council member Loretta Ellerbe.
The leaders narrowed funding options to five options, and will meet again April 28 to discuss them. Those options range from continuing to push for a sales tax increase, to raising property taxes, to imposing car registration fees of more than $100.
The suburban rail service, if funded, would begin operating in 2025, or perhaps 2030, its backers said.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News
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