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It seems that every year we are presented with a new light rail expansion
proposal. In 1923 the city of Houston enacted a plan to remove the trolley
tracks on Main Street. The removal was completed in 1925 much to the delight of
merchants and pedestrians. It was evident that a train running down Main Street
did nothing to help the hundreds of retail shops that lined the boulevard.
Today, we have a train on Main Street and a virtual ghost town of retail blight
to go with it.
Houston was known for many years as the place where 18 railroads meet the sea.
In 1929 Houston had 72 freight trains in and out of the city every 24 hours.
The Houston Electric Company back in 1932 had a combination of
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trolley and buses that moved more than 125,000 people daily in a territory of 72
square miles. It took 748 employees to help service the 119 miles of bus routes
plus the 79 miles of track. The old interurban line to Galveston in 1930
operated 30 trains in and out of Houston daily. It had 11 trains servicing the
suburbs including six daily to Goose Creek and the many communities in between.
History provides us with ample evidence that rail is a successful way of moving
people and freight. Unfortunately, history also illustrates how politicians
refuse to take into consideration the hard learned lessons of the past in
regards to rail placement.
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Historically Houston
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