Leaders of area transportation agencies are reviewing strategies to bring passengers from northwest Houston, where a proposed high-speed train is expected to stop, into the central business district.

Officials with the Gulf Coast Rail District, Houston-Galveston Area Council, Texas Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transit Authority are involved in a comprehensive planning study of rail, generally in the Washington Avenue and Interstate 10 area.

The study, building off numerous previous reports and research by the agencies, is intended to provide a template for how to develop rail between a site at or near Northwest Mall and the former downtown post office.

The study could be persuasive should local officials want to encourage the Federal Railroad Administration or Texas Central Partners, the sponsor of the Dallas-to-Houston rail project, to rethink extending high-speed rail service to downtown, said Maureen Crocker, the rail district's executive director.

"Really, time is of the essence at this point," Crocker told rail district officials about changing the high-speed rail plans.

Options unclear

Last month, based on Texas Central's research and analysis, federal officials removed a downtown link from further study of a planned Houston-to-Dallas bullet train. The privately funded, $10 billion project still must pass various hurdles, secure all its financing and acquire land. The company has said it expects to start construction in 2017 and begin operating in 2021.

In Houston, interest in the 240-mile rail link has refocused onto its last few miles. Stopping at U.S. 290 and Loop 610, while advantageous for travelers to and from the city's west side, would eliminate what some say is a critical link to downtown.

A 2012 study commissioned by the rail district found that commuter rail along the U.S. 290 corridor would carry an estimated 5,960 riders in 2035 without a direct connection to the central business district. With access to the urban core, ridership increased to 22,580 per day. The study did not examine the effect of the connection on intercity trains.

That ridership, for comparison, would be about half what Metro's Red Line carries on an average work day.

Absent a high-speed extension, options for a plausible rail connection between Loop 610 and downtown are unclear. Freight railroads have been unwilling to provide access or space for passenger rail in the area. Neighborhoods along the potential route also fought to avoid disruptions.

A possible course - as officials suggested to Texas Central - was a rail line alongside, within the median or elevated above I-10, said Chelsea St. Louis, a senior transportation planner with H-GAC.

Metro participation

Yet even an I-10 route has limits, namely heavy competition for space along the freeway. TxDOT has discussed managed lanes along I-10. The first step in developing a regional rail plan would be to sort out those various interests.

"We should get all of the partners together and talk about what the next step should be," St. Louis told rail district officials.

Though they were absent from earlier discussions, Metro officials now are engaging in the process. Metro is by far the region's largest public transit agency and the only operator of passenger rail in Houston, apart from national Amtrak service.

"For such a study to be successful, Metro has to be a full working partner," said Metro board member Jim Robinson, the transit agency's appointee to the rail district.

The various agencies, including Metro, also have different priorities. Even among those interested in a rail link, the demand and types of traveler vary. Metro must consider the needs of all transit users, not just those hopping off high-speed rail, board member Christof Spieler said.

Despite the uncertainty regarding how far into the city's core a high-speed rail line would extend, officials believe it will fit nicely with future transportation options.

"High-speed rail will be a win for the region," Crocker said. "High-speed rail combined with regional rail and a direct connection to downtown will be a win-win for this region. ... This is the time to pull them all together."