Testimony supporting the establishment of a Railroad Division at the State of Texas Department of Transportation

The entire day's testimony before the Senate State Affairs is available on Real Audio. There is 6 hours of testimony. If you wish to skip directly to Mr. Mangelsdorf testimony, it is located at time segment: 1:11:55. You may additionally find TRA Board Member John Radovich's testimony at time segment: 1:19:15.

Given before the Senate State Affairs Committee

By Paul Mangelsdorf, Principal,
Texas Rail Advocates

June 20, 2002

During the past century we have seen significant changes in the transportation infrastructure of Texas. As we enter a new century, calls for more changes and new directions of planning and development are necessary.

Texas Rail Advocates welcomes the exciting Trans Texas Corridor Plan of Governor Perry. It is the first time that a rail component has been incorporated in future intermodal transportation plans.

Absent in the past in the state transportation planning was the realization that the railroad mode is capable of moving large amounts of freight and great numbers of passengers with a minimum impact on the environment and at greatly reduced cost.

As cities have became more congested and it has become increasingly difficult to meet air quality standards, the rail alterative has become increasingly attractive to metropolitan planning authorities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Houston. However these authorities have found it necessary to work with Class I Railroads in planning intermodal solutions.

There is a growing challenge to move freight and passengers efficiently and economically at high speed between urban areas. There is an opportunity to incorporate rail in meeting this challenge.

The hallmarks of a new transportation system for Texas should include redundancy of service so that if airlines are grounded again, one could easily take a train, bus, or automobile to the destination. Interconnectivity is another hallmark. It will enable travelers flying into Texas airports from distant destinations to easily use various ground transportation modes (train, intercity bus, transit or automobile) to have easy access to the entire state.

A third hallmark is cooperation among railroads, airlines and bus companies to enable travelers to have a user friendly and (if necessary) automobile free transportation availability. What is absent today, ... but needs to be established if these goals are to be realized, ... is a Rail Division at TxDOT.

A proactive rail division could be a resource center for gathering valuable information on how other countries, states and regions are addressing transportation challenges successfully from a rail perspective.

Consideration should be given to exploring the possibilities of partnering between the State of Texas and the railroads for capacity expansion and coordination of various aspects of integrating freight and passenger operation for intercity services, i.e. intermodal freight yards and intermodal passenger terminals.

Rail division staff members would understand the industry's issues and positions based on their economic business case. Staff members would articulate positions and educate other policy makers on the rail mode - freight and passenger.

Developing a better working partnership between the State of Texas TxDot and the Railroad Industry would be an important function of the division. The rail division should make a difference for all Texans by understanding and supporting the efficiency and economy of rail transportation both freight and passenger at TxDOT.

Other countries have not hesitated to develop the rail alternative to its full potential. The United Sates is coming to realize that past omissions in transportation development have been costly and harmful to the country's well being. Other states and regions are now moving forward with new transportation plans in which rail is a leading component.

Texas Rail Advocates urges the establishments of a Rail Division at TxDOT to insure that the growth and development of this state proceeds in an economically efficient and environmentally compatible manner.