Station moves, different times planned for TEX Rail

The train is expected to link Fort Worth and DFW International Airport by 2016.

New times for the trains to run, different station locations and plans for noise abatement were unveiled during an October public comment session.

Grapevine leaders met separately with The Fort Worth Transportation Authority, or The T, on Dec. 4 over concerns about a change for the TEX Rail station in the Fort Worth Stockyards area, fearing it would be less convenient for tourists who wanted to take the train to shop in Grapevine.

Their concerns were allayed, said Councilwoman Sharron Spencer.

“We had a very good meeting with them,” Spencer said. “I’m OK with it now. It makes sense to move it down the street a few blocks.”

Shuttles would move tourists from the Stockyards to the train station, said Curvie Hawkins, planning director for The T.

Times also have shifted.

Instead of running from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with 20-minute peak service and 60 minutes off-peak, plans now call for 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with 30-minute peak service and an hour off-peak.

With noise abatement measures including quiet zones, all the severe noise impacts noted in preliminary reports would be eliminated.

Besides a station planned for Grapevine’s downtown, the city has a financial stake in TEX Rail. Voters approved a one-cent sales tax increase, with 3/8-cent going to TEX Rail, in 2006.

By the end of the year, City Manager Bruno Rumbelow estimated, the city will have collected about $48 million for the rail line.

TEX Rail is expected to cost about $758 million.

Residents will have 30 days to comment when a Final Environmental Assessment is complete, probably early next year. The assessment will be in area libraries and elsewhere. More: www.texrail.com.