Travis County commissioners agree to contract with consultant to consider route, station locations, costs
The southbound Texas Eagle makes a stop in Austin, Texas, on June 1, 2017. Officials in Travis County, which includes Austin, have approved a feasibility study for commuter service between Austin and San Antonio. Bob Johnston
AUSTIN, Texas — Officials in Travis County have approved a contract for a feasibility study of a commuter rail operation between Austin and San Antonio, Texas.
At a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a $124,953.50 contract with consultant HNTB Corp. for a “high-level engineering feasibility study” for a route following State Highway 130 and Interstate Highway 10. [Documents related to the contract begin on page 496 of this meeting agenda packet.] The contract calls for HNTB to identify the route, potential station locations, and estimates of costs for construction, operation, and maintenance, and is to be completed with 175 days of the company’s receipt of a “notice to proceed” from the county.
The county’s department of Transportation and Natural Resources recommended HNTB as the most qualified entity to conduct the study because it is already working with the state on a study of the I-10 corridor.
KXAN-TV reports that Judge Andy Brown, who heads the Commissioners Court, said he was “excited” about the study. “If we can squeeze a passenger rail route in the right of way that does not involve taking a lot of private land, I think that makes the possibility of getting rail between Austin … down to Bexar County much more realistic and potentially much quicker.”