1. PLANNING | ENGINEERING | PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
HIDALGO COUNTY RAIL BOARD
COMMUTER RAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY
PUBLIC MEETING & OPEN HOUSE
May 9, 2011
PLANNING | ENGINEERING | PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

2. PROJECT OVERVIEW Purpose and Need Study Funded by U.S. DOE Grant
Explosive Population and Employment Growth
County Level Commuter Rail Districts Enabled by State
Study Funded by U.S. DOE Grant
Feasibility Examines:
Corridors & Stations
Modes & Operations
Costs & Benefits

3. PROJECT OVERVIEW CORRIDORS & STATIONS
Hidalgo County, according to the US Census Bureau, grew in population from 569,000 in 2000 to 775,000 in 2010, an annualized growth rate of 3.14%, which is quite substantial, especially when compared to the annualized growth rates of 1.89% for the state of Texas, and 0.98% for the United States as a whole. This is consistent with local assessments of rapid population growth.
The Hidalgo County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) forecasts that countywide population in 2030 will total approximately 1,644,000 persons, or more than double the existing 2010 population

4. CORRIDORS & STATIONS General Station Location Desires
Employment/Residential Concentrations
Retail / Commercial Districts
Downtowns / Main Streets
Government / Education Uses
Adequate Parking Supply
Nearby Feeder Bus Routes
Extend Catchment Area
Reduce Parking Requirements

5. CORRIDORS & STATIONS Example: Downtown Weslaco College Campus
Municipal Buildings
Historic Main Street
Downtown Weslaco is a good example of three transit-friendly uses together.

6. CORRIDORS & STATIONS Station Locations
Now there is an “urban core” with four stations 1.6 – 1.8 miles apart. 11 stations, 37 CL miles

7. MODES & OPERATIONS Predictive Models of Rail Ridership
Other Recent LAN models:
San Antonio
Tulsa
“reasonableness check”

8. Dallas Area Rapid Transit
MODES & OPERATIONS
DMU/EMU (Compliant)
Light Rail (LRT)
DMU (Non-Compliant)
32 miles (Austin)
Holds 200 Passengers / 2 cars (108 seated)
Up to 75 mph Average speed 34 mph
Station Spacing 5 miles
$5 million per rail car
35 miles (DFW)
96 seated (per car)
Up to 79 mph Average speed 45 mph
Station Spacing 5 miles
$1.8 million each (cost includes engineering, shipment, etc.)
Meets FRA regulations for crash regulations
87 miles (DART System)
160 passengers / 3 cars
(76 seated)
Up to 65 mph Average speed mph
Station Spacing ½ to 2 mile
$3.2 million each (includes design, engineering, shipment, etc.).
Metro Rail
Trinity Rail Express
Dallas Area Rapid Transit

9. MODES & OPERATIONS Multiple Rail Modes
Variety of Demographic and System Characteristics
Mathematical Formulae Provide Planning Level Estimates of Ridership

10. BENEFIT ANALYSIS 2030 Employment Near Stations
134,000 Jobs (30% of the 445,000 in County)

11. BENEFIT ANALYSIS 2030 Population Near Stations
326,000 People (20% of the 1,644,000 in County)

12. BENEFIT ANALYSIS Commuter Rail = 16,300 per day
Light Rail = 6,600 per day
Note that light rail has slightly higher ridership for the “urban stations.” This reinforces that it’s more appropriate for denser development than what Hidalgo is expected to have.

13. BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Increasing nearby jobs has more impact than increasing nearby residences
Baseline
Concentrating businesses is more effective (and may be easier), though concentrating residences does help too.
*Assumes 25 mph

14. (within ½ mile of stations)
BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Station
Possible Job Creation
(within ½ mile of stations)
Vacant Land
Current
Future
Growth
(acres)
McAllen Central
4,526
5,028
502
26.7
Edinburg Central
2,454
2,626
172
14.6
McAllen East
1,614
2,318
704
121.0
McAllen North
1,131
1,664
533
67.9
Pharr
1,447
1,907
460
36.4
San Juan
1,196
1,490
294
27.9
Alamo-Donna 49
740
691
290.6
Weslaco
1,635
1,809
174
15.9
Mercedes
1,951
2,364
413
38.3
Mission
456
974
518
131.1
Edinburg 281
329
964
635
266.8
Total
16,788
21,884
5,096
1,037.2

15. BENEFIT ANALYSIS Sample Existing Conditions
Some Blocks are Mostly Developed and are Transit-Friendly Now
Less Dense Blocks are Likely to Change / Build Up
Left 2 photos are McAllen; middle 2 are Mercedes; right 2 are Pharr.

16. BENEFIT ANALYSIS Transit Routes and Schedules
MET (McAllen Express Transit)
RioMetro Intercity
Only in McAllen is there much connecting bus service. For the rail system to be successful, all the stations will need feeder buses on more routes and with more frequent service, to achieve projected rail ridership.

17. COST ANALYSIS LAN Experience with Texas Systems Capital Metro, Austin
Denton County Transit Authority
Trinity Rail Express, Dallas / Fort Worth
DART, Dallas
METRO, Houston
VIA Metro, San Antonio (Rail in Planning)

18. COST ANALYSIS Peer Group Comparison Commuter Rail System
Largest City Served
Average Weekday Riders*
NJ Transit Rail
New York/Philadelphia
291,428
MBTA Commuter Rail
Boston
130,800
SEPTA Regional Rail
Philadelphia
120,800
Caltrain (Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Bd)
San Francisco/San Jose
35,900
VRE
Washington, DC
16,300
TRE
Dallas – Fort Worth
9,400
Light Rail
System
Largest City Served
Average Weekday Riders*
Blue & Green Lines
Los Angeles
134,500
Red & Blue Lines
Portland
115,400
100, 101 & 102 Lines
Philadelphia
102,500
Dallas
65,700
Metrolink
Saint Louis
60,100
Folsom North & South Lines
Sacramento
55,800
Sandy Salt Lake & University
Salt Lake City
43,400
Alum Rock, Mountain View & Ohlone Lines
San Jose
31,500
Library & South Hills Lines
Pittsburgh
24,800
Metro Rail
Buffalo
20,600
Cleveland
9,804
DMU Lines
System
Largest City Served
Average Weekday Riders*
SFRTA Tri-Rail (mixed fleet)
Miami
12,400
NJ Transit Riverline
Trenton/Camden
9,771
North County Transit District (NCTD) Sprinter
Oceanside
7,200
Westside Express Service (TriMet)
Beaverton
1,100
Regression Peer Group systems of similar size consulted for amounts of service run, size of park & ride lots, etc.

19. COST ANALYSIS At-Grade Crossings Spur Tracks
Grade crossing conditions varied – some will have to be closed; in some cases every single city block features a railroad crossing (313 throughout the county).

20. System Cost Elements COST ANALYSIS
Largest cost drivers are track related upgrades – additional sidings would be needed for more frequent service

21. RECOMMENDATIONS
Preferred Mode is Commuter Rail
System is Viable Relative to Forecasted Demographics
Improve Policy, Financial, Physical, Institutional Environments
Pursue Federal Funding: “New Starts”
Policy = planning and regulatory conditions around stations
Financial = New Starts, Grade Xings, Texas Rail Relocation & Improvement Fund
Physical = Infrastructure capacity
Institutional = Operating Entity (true regional transit authority)

22. RECOMMENDATIONS

23. PLANNING | ENGINEERING | PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
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PLANNING | ENGINEERING | PROGRAM MANAGEMENT