The woman at the center of transportation policy in all of Texas says there is a renewed push for passenger and freight rail here.  "Really since the creation of the Texas Department of Transportation, roads were seen as the only solution and we're learning very quickly that we can't keep up with enough of the road demand," Deirdre Delisi, Chair of the Texas Transportation Commission, said this week.

Under the Bush administration, to which Delisi is a one-time political consultant, rail was not considered as important to the state's transportation needs as were highways. However, that has changed. The U.S. Department of Transportation under the Obama administration has begun to focus more on alternative transportation, including a push during the passage of the stimulus plan, on high-speed rail.

"We're actually in the process of changing our strategic plan at TxDOT to include rail, both passenger and freight, to improve air quality and to improve congestion on the roads," Delisi said.

Other densely-populated states, including Florida, have long since created plans for elaborate rail systems. Those received closer attention under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act as they were considered "shovel-ready". "We're behind in Texas, relative to other states who have more of a robust rail infrastructure. But we're aggressively pursuing it where it makes sense, where it's feasible, where folks want it and where it makes good economic sense," she said.

One rail system on the books for years has been what is now the Lone Star Rail system (formerly a much more complex name: "Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail System").

 

(Click play below to hear KLBJ's Jarrod Allen's full interview with Ms. Delisi regarding rail in TX)