Building good habits
In July, I looked at what makes a succesful commuter rail line. The Houston line that comes closest to the ideal is Houston to Galveston. Here’s what that might look like:
The yellow dots are major activity centers. The fact that there are so many on this line — at both ends — would do a lot to make it sucessful. But note that only one of them is directly on the line — that’s where the red lines, the two urban rail systems, come in. They include places that have all-day and weekend demand: universities, medical centers, museums, parks, and entertainment destinations. Stations with green “halos” are in walkable places — old neighborhoods and town centers. Some of these places don’t have much to walk to yet, but the street grid is there, so new businesses and buildings could grow around the stations.
Just as important is what’s not on the map. With top speeds of 79 mph, a 1 hour or better travel time would be possible. That key; so is regular service. I’d say every half hour during rush hour and every hour midday in both directions, first train at 6:00 and last train at 10:00, plus weekend service. Schedules should be easy to remember: “clockface” departures at both ends on the hour and the half hour. Of course, the schedules need to be on a regional website, and tickets need to work on the train, trolley, light rail, and bus. On board there needs to be WiFi — turning an hour of travel into an hour of productive time — and food: breakfast tacos, sandwiches, coffee.
None of this comes cheap, though. The existing tracks aren’t maintained for passenger trains, so rails would need to be replaced and the roadbed rebuilt. A new signal system would be required to safely allow more trains on the route, and some sections of double track would need to be added so passenger trains can pass trains going in the opposite direction and slower freight trains. At the Houston end, a few miles of brand new line — include three overpasses — would be needed to bypass busy freight rail lines. And, of course, the budget would have to include new stations, trains, and a maintenance facility.
Commuter rail to Gavleston makes as much sense as any commuter rail line we might build in Houston. It would be possible to implement it as a comfortable, convenient service that would link two urban cores and employment centers, carrying people all day, every day. But it would be neither cheap nor easy to implement. A good commuter rail line is a useful link in a regional transit system. But it’s not simply a replacement for commuter buses. And it’s not an alternative to light rail; it’s a complement.
Should we build commuter rail? Tell us what you think in our forums.