05/06/2004
Super rail corridors proposed in joint Harris County, Port of Houston Authority study
A study sponsored jointly by Harris County and the Port of Houston Authority proposes to create three super rail corridors in the metropolitan area to significantly reduce traffic congestion on Houston streets caused by trains, a Port official told the Transportation Committee of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce on May 6.
The Harris County Freight Railroad Corridors and Urban Mobility Program preliminary plan suggests improving existing north, east and west rail corridors and shifting all through trains to one of the three lines. Local rail traffic would continue to use other rail lines, said Scott Forbes, government relations manager for the Port of Houston Authority.
“We have found there are over 700 at-grade rail crossings in Harris County,” he said. “There is no way we can alleviate the traffic with that many crossings, and it’s financially impossible to accomplish. Instead, we have come up with a preliminary plan to create three super corridors and combine through train routes onto those corridors, expand their capacity and provide grade separations.”
The plan proposes consolidating 11 through freight rail corridors onto the three rail lines. The lines currently handle 59 trains a day. The program would reroute 54 trains a day to the consolidated rail corridor.
The corridor most of interest to Cy-Fair Chamber members is Union Pacific’s Euereka subdivision, which runs along U.S. 290. The rail line, which currently handles four through trains a day, has been identified as a potential route for commuter rail. The study proposes that the through trains on the line would be rerouted, although local service to businesses along U.S. 290 would continue.
One of the super corridors would run along the Hardy Toll Road, which is already a highly used rail line that has grade separations throughout. Capacity along the line would be expanded to handle more trains, Forbes said.
The west corridor would utilize the existing tracks along U.S. 90-A through Fort Bend County. Because of the numerous at-grade crossings along the route and the proximity of residential areas, the plan calls for the possibility of building a trench for trains to travel.
The east corridor, running along Texas 146, would provide rail service to the Port of Houston and the Port’s Bayport terminal.
Forbes said the proposed project would cost $3 billion, and could be funded by federal and local government as well as the railroads that use the rail lines. However, the railroads have not yet endorsed the plan, he said.
“The biggest benefit to the railroads is that they’d get more capacity,” Forbes said. “We’ve got to figure out a way for them to pitch in on that part. The trains could run at faster speeds because of fewer grade separations.”
Implementation of the plan would improve regional mobility, reduce pollution, enhance safety and eliminate the need for trains to sound whistles in residential areas, he said.
The plan calls for working with affected communities, railroad companies and customers to plan details. It also proposes working with local members of Congress to have the program authorized in the Transportation Reauthorization Act.
The Transportation Committee of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber meets on the first Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. at the Chamber office, 11050 FM 1960 West, Suite 100. Interested members of the public are welcome to attend meetings. For information, call 281-955-1100.
05/2004
Manufacturers’ Roundtable is a win-win situation
A Cy-Fair College program that matches local industry leaders with college
administrators and faculty has become a prime example of how a business-education
partnership can benefit a community.
In late 2001, the college invited area the area industry leaders to
meet with college officials to form a Manufacturers Roundtable. The
Roundtable has led to an associate’s degree program - Engineered
Metal Building Drafting and Design - as well as customized training
for businesses and other programs that are in the planning stage.
“Manufacturing is cyclical,
and the college didn’t want to make any decisions about training
without industry input,” says Wendy Lamb, dean of art technology
for Cy-Fair College. “We wanted to know what the manufacturers’
immediate, short-term and long-term training needs were.”
Soon, NCI Building Systems
partnered with the college to develop the metal building degree program.
The Manufacturers’ Roundtable
started with a few companies and has grown to 35. Several of the companies
have donated equipment for college manufacturing courses, Lamb says.
Other firms have hired the college to conduct customized training.
“What the Manufacturers' Roundtable has done is helped keep the college on target for what we need to prepare students so they can get manufacturing jobs in the Cy-Fair or Houston area,” Lamb says. “Companies are telling us there will be an upswing in 2005 in manufacturing. We need to get people in the pipeline now so they are ready for the workforce in 2005.”
Archived News
04/01/04 Congressional run-off candidate speaks at Chamber
04/01/04 U.S. 290 schematic design presented at Chamber meeting
03/19/04 Speaker delivers informative, upbeat talk at Chamber luncheon
03/04/04 Chamber Transportation Committee advocating commuter rail
02/17/04 Radack outlines improvements in West, Northwest Harris County