Panhandle Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) released the following statement on June 6 after learning that funding for the I-20 Passenger Rail Corridor, which he supported through a letter to the Federal Rail Administration in April, was included in Amtrak’s request to the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Rail Passenger Rail (FSP) National Program:

“The I-20 Passenger Rail Corridor will be an economic driver to the First Congressional District by directly connecting rural regions in East Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta metropolitan areas. Additionally, this infrastructure will set the groundwork towards revitalizing historic downtowns across the district and catalyzing local economic development, while expanding opportunities in these communities. Thank you to Amtrak for their support and recognition of the need to expand much-needed transit across East Texas through the I-20 Passenger Rail Corridor project.” 

Background information:

The proposal of the I-20 Passenger Rail Corridor under the Fiscal Year 2022 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program (FSP-National) will provide alternative public transit to underserved communities in the First Congressional District, including Marshall and Longview.

This is the first application from Amtrak for the implementation of a long-distance route in decades. 

Further information:

• On April 21, 2023, Congressman Moran sent a letter of support to Administrator Bose of the Federal Rail Administration expressing his support for Amtrak’s application.
• On May 16, 2023, Amtrak announced their application for projects across the United States, including the extension of the Crescent long distance train service to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which would include service in the Marshall and Longview communities.

Original source can be found here.