TEX Rail projected ridership numbers up

New projections show that TEX Rail will reach an average daily ridership of 18,100 by 2035, up 1,500 since The T’s commuter rail project was approved to enter Preliminary Engineering (PE) by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in March 2012.

TEX Rail’s 2016 opening year average daily ridership jumped to 9,890, more than 1,000 above the Trinity Railway Express average daily ridership.

The ridership increase is among other metrics reported by The T in their annual project update submittal to the FTA. Agencies must update their progress, projected cost update, financial resources, partnerships and community support for their project.

“FTA specifies a timeline for requirements the agency must complete — a to-do list, of sorts — and requires an annual update to validate the agency has accomplished them,” said Dick Ruddell, president of The T. “I am pleased to report that The T’s annual TEX Rail submittal to FTA shows TEX Rail is still scheduled to open in 2016 with no delays from last year’s schedule.”

The T received a project score of medium-high as part of its FTA approval this spring to enter PE. With this year’s update, The T fully expects to maintain the Medium High rating it received in the spring.