FORT WORTH, Texas — Regional transportation officials missed their year-end deadline to draw up plans for commuter rail at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport because they could not narrow the options at the sprawling airport, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
When potential connections were studied during the past month, the number of ways to start bus, commuter rail and light rail service to the airport increased.
The final plan will probably be delayed until March or April, officials said.
“It was my hope that the engineering and capital costs would eliminate some options, but that has not happened,” said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. “I thought the corridors on airport property would be more restrictive, but they’re not. The good news is there are more options still in the mix that may be recommended.”
During the summer, a steering committee narrowed the choices to 12 combinations of bus, light rail and commuter rail service. Now, there are 17 choices.
“We’re still determining which pieces bring us significant ridership at the lowest cost,” said Cissy Sylo, the airport transportation planning manager.
Planners are studying “headway,” or the time between trains, and how many riders would be gained or lost when headway changes. Other factors include the average time that it takes to search for a parking space at the airport (typically 15 minutes) and the average cost of parking for potential transit riders ($31.09 after Sept. 11).
“We don’t want to fall into the trap of looking at the airport like another central business district,” Sylo said. “We need this to reflect what actually goes on at D/FW International Airport.”
Officials said none of the region’s potential rail links has been eliminated.
The Trinity Railway Express commuter train, which operates on the Rock Island line, has a station six miles south of airport terminals. A planned “northwest” Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail line would run east of the airport through Irving to Texas 114, perhaps in Grapevine.
A Cotton Belt commuter train would run from downtown Fort Worth through Northeast Tarrant County, three miles north of the terminals, and on to Addison.
The council of governments will spend a month developing potential ridership figures for different sections of the lines. At the end of January, a revised packet of information will be sent to the steering committee, which includes top officials from D/FW Airport, the council of governments, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, DART and the Texas Department of Transportation.
On Feb. 22, the steering committee is scheduled to choose one to three options. Public meetings will follow.
The council of governments is planning the region’s first mass transit summit in March. One topic will be how area cities can join one of the transportation authorities so the regional transit system does not become fragmented.
If the D/FW study calls for a Cotton Belt connection to be built, funding for construction would probably come from Northeast Tarrant County cities joining an authority such as DART or the T. (DART owns much of the Cotton Belt line.)
To join an authority, cities must have elections to create a half-cent sales tax to pay for the service.
A city could obtain transit service by contracting with an authority such as DART or the T, but the city must pay the full cost of service. Another option is for cities to create individual authorities, but that could hinder regional cooperation.
Two downtown Fort Worth stations are already on one end of the line, so a Cotton Belt commuter train could be operating before the end of the decade, Morris said.
“Instead of building the Trinity Railway Express up to the airport, we could use that money to build from the north end, which is actually closer to the terminals,” Morris said. “We haven’t made any final decisions, and the real challenge is, Will the cities in Northeast Tarrant County join an authority and get it done?”