Lone Star Rail District
In 2015, the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (San Antonio) and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (Austin) proposed a 117-mile line consisting of 24 stations running from Austin to San Antonio, with service extending to Georgetown, Round Rock, Kyle, San Marcos, and New Braunfels.
The initial plan was to share existing freight track owned by Union Pacific, with alternate proposals that involved building elevated track in the median of I-35 and/or below-grade track parallel to the highway or new track alongside the existing Union Pacific freight track. They also considered alternate routes, such as one that would go through Seguin and Lockhart.
In 2016, Union Pacific backed out of the proposal completely and stated that they have “no plans to expand passenger rail access for other entities like Amtrak on its lines, further adding that their “role is to move freight in an efficient, environmentally friendly way.”
UP officials then said the district had not adequately addressed questions about how a passenger rail system would impact the company’s freight system.
The Lone Star Rail District was officially killed in August 2016 when the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) withdrew all funding.
Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Study
In 2012, TxDOT conducted a study evaluating the feasibility of high-speed rail along an 850-mile corridor from Oklahoma City to South Texas.
The study concluded in November 2017 after the completion of an environmental impact study and a service development plan
The official purpose of the study was to address questions about a potential Texas-Mexico line, such as how it might be funded, how fast the trains could go and whether the lines could carry cargo in addition to passengers.
The study evaluated three distinct corridor sections:
Northern: Oklahoma City to Dallas/Fort Worth
Central: Dallas/Fort Worth to San Antonio
Southern: San Antonio to Rio Grande Valley/Corpus Christi/Laredo
More specifically, the 2016 study identified Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Laredo, McAllen, Harlingen and Brownsville as stops.
There were in-person and virtual meetings in early 2014 as well as public hearings in Laredo, Austin, and Arlington to seek public input on the study.
In the end, the study was primarily a look into feasibility and environmental impacts - it is not a plan.
Texas lawmakers never applied for federal matching funds that could have kick-started development of Oklahoma-Texas rail line the service.
San Antonio-Monterrey Line
Federal, state and local officials in the U.S. and Mexico have talked about a rail link since the late 1980s. Among the proposals was a high-speed rail line that would allow passengers to travel between San Antonio and Monterrey in two hours.
In 1992, then-San Antonio Mayor Nelson Wolff joined mayors from Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, and Monterrey in endorsing a rail link between the two countries. In 2000, Amtrak said it was planning a route from San Antonio to Monterrey.
Shortly after the completion of the Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Study, Mexico also completed its own study on connecting Monterrey to Laredo and San Antonio.
In December 2021. Congressman Henry Cuellar met with officials from the State of Nuevo Leon, the US federal government, TxDOT, Amtrak, and the Rail Passengers Association to revive talks of the San Antonio-Monterrey line.
The Congressman said the next step in the process would be getting the state’s permission for the project and to conduct another required study that would outline how the project would be financed and constructed.
As early as 2015, Mexican officials projected that the line would cost about $1.5 billion on their side of the border, while Cuellar, TxDOT, and FRA all declined to provide the price tag for the U.S. cost.
Cuellar said the bulk of the project would likely be funded through the private sector, in partnership with public transportation authorities from both countries.
In September 2021, Mexico announced they would begin a new study and scrapped the idea of building a high-speed line. Instead of considering trains that would travel at speeds up to 250 mph, they’re examining conventional rail with a maximum speed of 100 mph. (By comparison, Amtrak’s once-a-day Texas Eagle — which starts in San Antonio and ends in Chicago — has a top speed of 79 mph.)