Austin-San Antonio Commuter Rail?

August 7, 2008

buying a home in austin may soon have more alternatives

image courtesy of Theoriss

According to the Austin American Statesman,

“Building a 145-mile-long freight rail bypass around Austin and San Antonio at a cost of $2.4 billion, making commuter rail possible between the cities, would generate about $1.4 billion in public benefits over 20 years, a study to be released today says. That $2.4 billion, however, does not include the estimated $600 million cost of building passenger rail between Austin and San Antonio, or the $41 million annual operating costs estimated by the agency charged with running such a line. And at this point, no matter the public benefit, it remains unclear how either the state or Central Texas governments will raise the money for the freight line bypass or the commuter line.

This would have a negative impact on our city financially if we are stuck paying for it (which probably won’t fly after the Tollway debacle) but could positively impact our economy and where we will see more subdivisions pop up. Bridging the gap between San Antonio and Austin has been coming for years, just drive down IH-35 to see the massive growth between our cities, but we’ll see if the State sees a need to inject itself into the natural progression of growth.

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