HEMPSTEAD TO HOUSTON COMMUTER RAIL BEING DISCUSSED

  

The possibility of a Highway 290 commuter rail is being planned to help that congested highway, and possibly meet the growing demands of the region.

Ongoing construction on 290 has increased travel time, and the answer, according to the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, is light rail

It is projected by 2040, there will be an extra 3 million people in the area, according to the Chamber study.

The Chamber of Commerce recently presented the plans for the rail being discussed, which would run between Hempstead and Highway 610, and from there, riders would be able to catch either a light rail train or a bus to get to the downtown area.

One of the issues being faced is what to use for the commuter rail line, due to the large grown in the freight train industry, which would leave no capacity to use existing rail lines. The answer, the Chamber believes, would be to build much of the track next to existing rail track with no need to elevate it.

Two other routes were identified: the Westpark corridor and the US 90a corridor, but after analysis, the 290 corridor has the advantage beyond the Houston area, with the possibility of extending the connection to Austin in the future.

The cost of the rail line between Hempstead to Houston is projected to be about 1.68 billion for more than 45 miles of tract, which would be placed next to existing rail track. The total cost would be approximately 36.9 million per mile for this route.

For more information on the Gulf Coast Rail District, go to www.qcfrd.org