Railroads sign TEX Rail agreements as project gains federal funds
FORT WORTH -- Of all the problems that have plagued efforts to develop the TEX Rail commuter line during the past decade, a lack of permission from four railroads to use their tracks was the most pesky.
That hurdle was eliminated Thursday when representatives of the rail companies gathered in Fort Worth to sign eight agreements that collectively clear the way for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, also known as the T, to begin operating TEX Rail from downtown to Grapevine and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, possibly by late 2018.
“All the paperwork problems are done,” Scott Mahaffey, the T board’s chairman, said before a signing ceremony at the Intermodal Transportation Center.
Also Thursday, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger’s office revealed that the omnibus federal spending bill presented to Congress on Wednesday includes a $100 million allocation to start development of TEX Rail. That brings the total amount of federal money allocated for the project to $150 million, or less than a third of the $499 million the T has requested.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/traffic/your-commute/article50325125.html
