Rail relocation has waited too long
February 10, 2009
The region's legislative delegation should recognize the local impact and work furiously to find revenue for the rail fund. Sen. John Carona of Dallas has one firm proposal – a bill (SB 383) to dedicate $200 million a year using the current tax on vehicles sales and rentals. There may be other legitimate ways of attacking the problem, but lawmakers shouldn't let this session end without settling on one.
Written by Editorial, The Dallas Morning News
Texas voters approved creation of a fund four years ago to ensure that freight trains move smoothly around and through city centers.
The idea was a common-sense one: Collect money for moving tracks away from urban congestion. The fund also would be tapped to unsnarl major freight-rail bottlenecks that disrupt the flow of goods and vehicular traffic in population centers.
The state is no closer to meeting those goals, however, because it hasn't put a nickel into the fund. That ought to change in this legislative session. This is more than a convenience or aesthetic matter for city dwellers. Rather, heavy freight moving through urban areas matters in several ways:
Safety. Railroad crossings at busy roadways cause death and injury. Texas led the nation in both categories in the 10 years ending in 2007. Dallas and Tarrant counties registered 77 deaths and 935 injuries combined.
Air quality. The rail fund would build a new intersection in Fort Worth's rail yards where north-south and east-west trains now wait for one another to pass. Trains sometimes idle for 90 minutes, needlessly spewing noxious fumes.
Roadways. Rail is the most efficient means of moving cargo – about 200 times as efficient as trucks. Smoother passage for trains would encourage more shippers to use rail over trucks, sparing Texas roads the pounding from 40-ton tractor-trailers.
Economics. Texas manufacturers depend on rail to get goods to market. And more than any other state, Texas enjoys the benefits of NAFTA trade across the Mexican border. Ensuring the flow of rail traffic protects jobs.
Close to home, improving train traffic benefits the developing International Inland Port in southern Dallas County, a massive shipping hub for which rail is the linchpin.
The region's legislative delegation should recognize the local impact and work furiously to find revenue for the rail fund. Sen. John Carona of Dallas has one firm proposal – a bill (SB 383) to dedicate $200 million a year using the current tax on vehicles sales and rentals.
There may be other legitimate ways of attacking the problem, but lawmakers shouldn't let this session end without settling on one.
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