Lone Star Rail Dead!

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) killed Lone Star Rail at tonight's meeting.

This was approved on a voice vote with one abstention and no objections. The Mayor of Georgetown voted to take Lone Star Rail out of the 2040 Transportation Plan.

An update on a Mobility Study between Georgetown and San Antonio was presented.

During the discussion period it became clear that rail was not off the table for future projects. Potential projects ranged from increasing capacity and frequency of AmTrak service to connecting to a high-speed rail system.  

With funding and planning precursors accomplished, TxDOT, working closely with CAMPO and AAMPO, will develop and lead a study that considers alternative modes of transportation between Austin and San Antonio. The study emphasis would be on solutions that go beyond adding single occupancy vehicle capacity. At a minimum, the study would include the IH-35 corridor but encompass the broader corridor and have a medium- to long-term planning horizon. Additional components of the study would: 
 Involve a comprehensive stakeholder coordination effort. 
 Recognize the interconnectedness of infrastructure, land use, and sustainability 
 Involve scenario planning – recommend ten, 20- and 50-year timeframes. 
 Encompass all reasonable modes of transportation.  Incorporate emerging technologies and their potential effect on future transportation. 
 Include cost-effectiveness of solutions and reasonable funding scenarios. 
 Consider, and incorporate where practical, the documents and other information from the Lone Star Rail study effort. 
 Result in a decision that would lead into a NEPA, project-specific study 

We are again being placed at the mercy of a regional planning organization over which the citizens of Georgetown have little input and even less influence, since only the Mayor of Georgetown has just one vote out of many.