SAN ANTONIO — On Tuesday, Bexar County Commissioners took their first step to increase Amtrak's Sunset Limited Routes, out of the Sunset Station downtown.
Currently, Amtrak serves seven areas in Texas three times a week: El Paso, Alpine, Sanderson, Del Rio, San Antonio, Houston and Beaumont.
Three people with the Rail Passengers Association, an organization that represents rail passengers, presented their case to increase routes to county commissioners Tuesday. "By having it daily, it would actually help connect various parts of the state,” a spokesperson with Rail Passengers Association said. “Many of those areas have no other service like airlines or bus services."
He said increasing routes would triple ridership, increase tourism and help the environment. "Rail service is a serious way of addressing climate issues, it's much less polluting than airlines, much less polluting than cars," he said.
Amtrak says they are on board with expanding the routes, but they must wait until next year when congress re-authorizes funding.
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