AUSTIN, Texas — A proposed rail line could soon link Texas to cities south of the border.
After years of talks, there's a renewed push to expand the Amtrak passenger rail service route to Mexico.
There's reportedly support on both sides of the border to make the concept a reality.
The current Amtrak line goes from San Antonio to Austin to Dallas and then north.
Members of the Texas Passenger Rail Advisory Committee are considering a route that would connect major Texas cities directly to Monterrey, Mexico.
"The idea is to get to a place where we have one line where that would go on that route, but could also connect to either through Laredo or through McAllen in South Texas and then to Monterrey, Mexico. A lot of manufacturing takes place. There are a lot of companies that are leaving Asia and are coming closer to the United States to set up shop in the Monterrey, Mexico, Nuevo Leon region are causing a lot of this growth," Travis County Judge Andy Brown said.
To get the expansion done, the project needs funding. The committee would need to come up with 20% of the cost and the federal government would cover the other 80%.