NET RMA Rail Plan

The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA) Rail Committee held its initial meeting in January 2007. From February 2007 until December 2008, the Rail Committee completed several tasks, including outlining the committee function and structure, conducting a Rail Survey of key stakeholders in the area, and submitting a Congressional Appropriations Request for funding rail project planning tasks.

In January 2009 the Rail Committee set a goal to prioritize potential rail projects in northeast Texas in order to formulate a Rail Plan. At the February 2009 meeting, the committee members reviewed ten possible Project Criteria that could guide the selection of rail projects. The committee selected the following seven criteria to be used in the development of a Rail Plan:

Has Regional Significance (serves most member counties)
Volume and Speed of Trains/Cars Per Day (reduce bottlenecks)
Preservation of Rail Corridors
Intermodality
Near Shovel Ready (Environmental, ROW, Plans Complete)
Opportunity for Economic Development
Improves Safety

At the March 2009 Rail Committee meeting, a draft rail plan document was approved by the committee. Further evaluation of the projects was conducted between March and June 2009 with the purpose of determining which projects provided the greatest benefits to the NET RMA region at the least costs. In June 2009 a Final Rail Plan was adopted that listed 33 priority rail projects that the NET RMA will support and possibly undertake as technical resources and funding become available.

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