August 19, 2025 - San Antonio Express-News, Richard Webner - 

Passenger rail has long been a subject of indifference, if not scorn, amidst the Republican political leadership of Texas, a state that has come to identify itself with super-tall highways and high-octane pickups as much as longhorn cattle and cowboy hats.

Yet there are signs that the idea of zooming commuter trains between San Antonio and Austin has at least been promoted to a topic of speculation in the corridors of power at the Texas Capitol.

Before his recent death, J. Bruce Bugg Jr., a close ally of Gov. Greg Abbott who oversaw the Texas Department of Transportation as chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, had created a working group to study how to improve passenger rail between the two cities, according to several people with knowledge of the effort.

Bugg’s drive for better train service between the two cities – as of now, the only option is the Texas Eagle, a 2½-hour Amtrak route that runs once a day in each direction – might be a surprise coming from a prominent figure in the Republican-dominated state government. Abbott had re-appointed Bugg to the commission in 2021, his second six-year term.

Read more:https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/commuter-rail-austin-san-antonio-bruce-bugg-train-20819277.php 
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Photo credit: Brightline - Could this east and west coast passenger rail operator be interested in this corridor?