Commuter Train Coming To Northeast Tarrant County

The northeast part of Tarrant County is one of the more densly populated and fastest growing areas of the county. It is a nice area with good schools, parks, shopping and recreation, but it has always been missing one thing - mass transportation. This was not so important a few years ago, when most of the cities there were still outlying country towns. It is not that way any longer. The cities of northeast Tarrant County have grown and become part of the urban Metroplex. For several years now, there has been a serious need for mass transportation. This part of the county doesn't even have bus service.

But it looks like help is on its way. The Cotton Belt commuter rail line could be open and running as early as 2009. This rail line will run from downtown Fort Worth, through several northeast Tarrant cities [Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Hurst, Bedford, Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake], and will end at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Each of these cities must fund and build their own stations if they want the train to stop in their city.

That is the current problem. These cities are trying to figure out where the money is going to come from. Grapevine is the first city to act. They have scheduled a referendum for November 7th to ask voters to approve a raise in the local sales tax of 3/8 of a cent. This money will be used to build a commuter train station. The other cities are still trying to find the money.

This rail line has been badly needed for many years. I urge all the cities on the line to find the money somewhere. It will only hurt a city to not be included as a stop on the commuter line. With the price of automobiles and gasoline these days, many are left without the mobility they need to live in an urban area. It is great that commuter rail is coming to northeast Tarrant County. It would be even better if all the cities got on board.