Private money may be used to build Cotton Belt corridor rail line
07:42 AM CDT on Friday, April 9, 2010
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER / The Dallas Morning News
mlindenberger@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...c.3f70d2e.html
With transportation funds running short at every level, regional planners for the North Central Texas Council of Governments are seeking permission to lead an unusual partnership with private investors so they can fast-track a 62-mile rail line known as the Cotton Belt corridor.
The plan, already supported by the two lead transit agencies in Dallas and Fort Worth, would use private money to build the rail line. And for the first time, the Regional Transportation Council would be put in charge of negotiating a contract outlining service levels, fares and other aspects of the new rail line.
DART and The T in Fort Worth would retain a veto over any final deal, and their staff members would sit in on the negotiations, explained Michael Morris, transportation director for the council of governments.
"From our point of view, we have an obligation to look out for all modes of transportation," Morris told the 43-member Regional Transportation Council on Thursday. "We've seen how innovative financing has helped us on the highway side, so our thought is, why not try to bring some of that same innovation to other modes and help our transit agencies develop rail lines as well."
The deal would be different than any of the private toll deals that have dominated discussions of highway financing for years.
Instead of an advisory role, the RTC would be in charge of selecting the firms to partner with and would negotiate the financing details for the plan, which could involve about $1 billion.
Morris said that if his approach is approved, the RTC could have a final deal to vote on, and to forward to the transit agencies, by the end of this year.
The council was poised to vote Thursday, but Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey and Collin County Commissioner Joe Jaynes asked for more time, and the 43-member RTC tabled the item for a month.
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DART knows of no other transit agency in the country that has opened a passenger rail line paid for by private investors, DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said. A public-private partnership in Denver is under way, but the transit agency has made big contributions of tax dollars to keep that project, already delayed and scaled back, moving forward.
The Cotton Belt plan, by contrast, would seek private investors to build the system without a penny from DART or The T.
The plan would most likely include much steeper fares for the Cotton Belt, paid parking, and the creation of special tax districts that would capture property tax increases associated with private development along the rail line.
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