Ed--is this good news or bad?

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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With more coming in, port wants better rail
By BILL HENSEL JR.
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

THE Port of Houston Authority is trying to get $3 billion from the federal government to consolidate freight lines, a move that would reduce both traffic congestion and horns blaring in neighborhoods.

The project is akin to the Alameda Corridor in California, where rail lines recently were consolidated to improve service at the bustling ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Houston port officials are hoping federal highway funds can be secured to pursue the deal, which would help build on an increasing shift of cargo to Houston from some of those same ports on the West Coast.

A massive labor slowdown at West Coast ports in 2002 triggered that move, as shippers saw some of their key products stalled or blocked from moving across the docks.

Port of Houston Executive Director Tom Kornegay said Houston is a logical destination for many kinds of cargo, and the number of containers moving through the port is increasing annually.

Dubbed the “Harris County Freight Railroad Corridors and Urban Mobility Program,” the project would consolidate the lines into three train corridors and expand them with grade-separated roadways.

The port wants to move now on the proposal because a new six-year funding cycle for the highway funds is coming before Congress next month.

Currently, 11 train lines operate in the Houston area. Traffic on some lines could be eliminated, while traffic on other lines could be rescheduled to off-peak times.

As proposed, the north corridor would stretch from Conroe to inside the Loop, down the Hardy Toll Road. The west corridor would travel from the port out along the West Belt past the University of Houston and then southwest along U.S. 90A.

The port corridor would use the Union Pacific Railroad’s Harrisburg Branch through the East End and the expanded Port Terminal Railr

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Zardoz: Thanks for posting this article. It would be interesting to see what Ed has to say about this topic seeing he is in the area.
Bob from AZ

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Hi Guys,
Leave it up to a reporter whos dosnt cover railroad releated stuff to not quite put all the parts together correctly.

The Hardy Street portion already had no grade crossings, it is double track main, rebuilt with grade seperation, about 12 years ago.
The majority of it runs right the middle of the Hardy Toll road, all street crossings are on bridges.

The Harrisburg line, or the old G, H&H line out towards Galveston, has a minimal of grade crossings, it runs inbetweeen the Houston Ship Channel and Highway 225, in the middle of the refineries along the ship channel, about the only crossing are refineries entrances.

It cross under highway 225, to gain access to UPs Strang yard, and Barbors Cut container facility.

The only portion that would have any impact on crossing safety is the portion along Highway 90, ex SP double track main, that has many city street grade crossings.

What they are trying to accomplish is getting the trains into Houston faster, more volume.

It isnt a safety issue, it is a capacity issue.

What container traffic dosnt start at Barbors cut, originates at the city dock, Port of Houston, about 20 miles farther in along the ship channel.

UP has three major yards within a mile or two of each other on the northeast side of Houston.

If you got a overhead map, you can find Englewood very fast, its that huge.
Settagast Yard is less than 1/2 mile north of Englewood, and Basin is about a mile south.

There are several mains connected to these yard, the old Hearn sub, the Rabbitt, the Dalhart sub, Corsicana sub, you get the point.

The folks who dreamed this up are not railroaders, they are shippers, real estate agencies, and people who have no idea how trains get into Houston.

You cant run all these lines into a corridor, or three of them.

Just off the top of my head, there are,…

BNSF’s
Hub c

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ED:

How do we do a public service for greater Houston? Gather up all the politicians, urban planners, the shipper lawyers & real estate lizzards and put them out to sea in a real leaky boat?

mudster[banghead]

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We could put them all on a Carnival cruise, if they survive the food, maybe.

Alameda works because the railroads have no choice but to go through the city.
You know the Houston area, the railroad are around the city proper, not through it.
No real need for a trench here.
More tracks and sideings, but no trench.
Stay frosty,
Ed

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Ed: Thanks for the good information—it is always interesting to get info from someone who is in the area and knows what really goes on there. I always appreciate your posts.
Bob from AZ

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It’s a little too late for Houston. Without any natural obstructions to growth, it spread in all directions with zero overall planning. In many areas Houston spread to unincorporated areas which have been swallowed by the city in the past twenty years. I think it would be fair to say that the number of yards is a function of the RRs meeting the demands of the customers which were spread throughout out the area. Its kind of like trying to introduce light rail to the area which has no natural flow from suburb to center, because the downtown is just one of several business areas.

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In a lot of cases, the railroad was there before most of the city. In Houston’s case, the city expanded rapidly when it became a major oil area and aerospace hub. Naturally, with folks crowding in, the city had to grow so that it soon incorporated areas which had been countryside and with it, the railways.