SAN ANTONIO – Officials at the Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) are preparing for a formal pitch to San Antonio city leaders to garner their support for the Lone Star Rail.
The system would run from Georgetown to San Antonio, with stops in Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels. There are also plans for an express service from Austin to San Antonio.
"This project is really going to provide real value to this community," said Lone Star Rail District Vice-Chair Tullos Wells. "Once people understand we're not light-rail and once they understand we're not high-speed rail -- which have organized opposition against them -- and people understand this project, they like it."
Several City Council members have publicly supported the project, but San Antonio is the last city along the route to strike a financial commitment to the project. The hesitation can best be summed up by Mayor Ivy Taylor who said, "I'm supportive of rail in Texas, contingent upon finding a viable funding mechanism."
Wells said current plans call for tax increment financing of the project, in which tax revenue from economic activity generated by the system helps pay for operation and maintenance. Wells said estimates put the system's annual operating budget at $30 million.
"We don't want to ask for a tax increase or general revenue monies in substantial numbers to fund San Antonio's portion of it," he said. "The cities and governmental entities up and down this corridor will be net-recipients of additional tax revenue that comes from the transit-oriented development up and down the corridor."
Alternatively, Wells said if San Antonio were to spurn the project the line would likely not extend past the Hill Country.
"What we would not want to happen, and I don't think San Antonio would want to happen, is the rail district decides all we can afford, because San Antonio doesn't participate, is there will be a rail line from Georgetown on the north down to New Braunfels or San Marcos on the south," Wells said.