Ports To Plains Initiative
By: Nick Kraynok
Updated: February 18, 2013
Ports-To-Plains Initiative
By Aaryn Valenzuela
Every week trains leave the San Angelo Railyard to make deliveries across the Concho Valley, including to Ballinger and Barnhart. They ship everything from cotton to sand used in oil production.
This week, anyone who is interested is invited to learn more about the Ports-To-Plains Initiative, connecting Mexico to Canada through the Concho Valley.
Eighteen West-Central Texas cities will be part of the Ports-To-Plains Project.
San Angelo is at the halfway point between Mexico and Canada, making it a convenient center for goods transportation.
City Council Member Charlotte Farmer represents San Angelo on the Ports-To-Plains Board, and says the transportation system of trains and trucks is vital.
"A lot of it is made in Mexico. They buy the raw goods from us here in San Angelo. Cotton, and other raw goods, and it's shipped to the factory places, and they make the product, and send it back," says Charlotte Farmer, who represents Single-Member District Six.
The Texas-Pacifico rail line, based in San Angelo, is now carrying more freight than ever before, and that's creating jobs.
"They have hired a tremendous amount of people, that means people in San Angelo have jobs, good jobs, and that's growth for our city that builds our economy," says Farmer.
Farmer says they're looking for ways to fund railroad track improvements at the end of the U.S. line in Presidio.
"We need the highway truck system as well as the rail system, and we are now looking for money to help us complete a small 30-mile stretch of railroad at Presidio, because of the condition of the track, the rail is very old, the trains can only travel five miles an hour."
The meeting will take place at the Angelo State University Legrand Alumni Center.
