Fort Worth — Switching Modes

Rail Transit Online, September 2003

The planned 7.6-mi. (12.2 km), $165-million downtown streetcar or light rail project might be scrapped in favor of commuter rail because city officials fear federal funding they were anticipating might be in jeopardy.   “If we were to press forward with our light rail application, we could receive a negative rating which would have an incredibly negative impact on the project,” Fort Worth’s legislative liaison Brandon Aghamalian told the Star-Telegram.  Among the reasons the FTA could cite to block the project would be a lack of time savings over other modes and the city’s failure so far to identify a source of operating funds.  Instead of building a new and more expensive electrically-powered system, planners foresee an expansion of the Trinity Railway Express along existing rights-of-way.  Three possible routes have been proposed, one following Lancaster Avenue and Rosedale Street to the east of downtown, another heading north through the Stockyards and Mid-Cities areas and the third running south to the Hulen area.