Amtrak considers adding new Bryan College Station stop on route connecting Texas Triangle

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Amtrak is considering placing a new stop in the Bryan, College Station area.

It’s far from a sure thing, though. The project needs President Joe Biden’s proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan to pass Congress in order to get the necessary funding.

Bryan, College Station is listed on a route that would connect Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.

”This is our vision, but it’s a starting point for longer discussions about really giving people in more places in the country, especially places that have been growing like this part of Texas,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.

Magliari says there is demand for transportation options besides driving, especially since flying isn’t always a feasible option for shorter trips.

“Anyone who’s in that part of central Texas or over to the west who has driven on I-35 has to know there’s a better way to go from city to city besides some of these roads,” Magliari said. “You can’t build these roads wide enough to accommodate all the people who want to travel, especially as we come out of the pandemic, when you have existing rail infrastructure which can move thousands and thousands of people in an environmentally benign way.”

Peter LeCody is the president of Texas Rail Advocates, a nonprofit formed in 2000 to educate and inform people about the benefits of advancing the development of rail service.

“Bryan College Station is really overdue for getting other modes of transportation,” LeCody said. “The train is a very comfortable way to go. I applaud Amtrak for being very visionary in their plan. We could start to see trains all over Texas, and it would be nice to finally get that Texas Triangle connected.”

LeCody says other parts of the country are way ahead of Texas as far as regional rail service goes. He says having two to five trains a day providing fast, frequent service to get people to where they want to go would be a huge development for the state, especially for areas with growing populations.

“Some people don’t drive. Some people don’t like to fly. Some people just don’t want to get out on the road spending three hours trying to get somewhere,” LeCody said. “If we have a good option for them at a reasonable price, that’s good for everybody.”

It’s too early in the project to know where the stop might be located or how much it might cost.

Biden’s infrastructure plan includes $80 billion for rail projects nationwide.

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