MCALLEN, Texas - An international rail bridge for the Upper Rio Grande Valley is now a top priority for RioPlex, says one of its ambassadors.
Jorge Torres, president of Interlink Trade Services, gave the RGG Business Journal an exclusive interview about the project.
“International trade, cross border trade, obviously will benefit from rail service. There is rail service in Eagle Pass, Texas, in Laredo, Texas, and in Brownsville, Texas for border crossings. Eagle Pass and Laredo are heavy in the automotive industry. Brownsville is heavy in commodities, bulk products such as steel scrap. In Laredo, also, there are some chemicals and other materials, construction materials, equipment. So rail service is critical for international trade, cross border trade.”
Torres continued: “If we want to attract industries such as an automotive plant, refineries, steel mills, big, big companies that hire a lot of people, we need to be able to support their needs, and one of them will be a rail service.”
Asked why the Upper Valley had not secured an international rail bridge before now, Torres answered:
“Well, setting up rail service is not as easy as building an international bridge. And building an international bridge is not easy at all. You have to deal with other factors, such as land access, routes, connectivity to inland rail, ports, etc.”
Torres said the closest large rail port to the Valley is in Houston. He said that port is in an expansion mode.
“(Getting an international rail bridge) is easier said than done, but I think it's doable. I think having a rail crossing here will attract industry to our region. So, I think it’s time to start looking into that.”
It was put to Torres that the main champions of an international rail bridge for the Upper Valley in the past were Keith Patridge, when he was president of McAllen Economic Development Corporation, and Armando O’Caña, when he was mayor of Mission. Since then, a reporter said, things seem to have gone quiet.
“There were a lot of studies and a lot of work done from a development standpoint,” Torres said. “I think Keith Patridge was a big promoter of that when he was in the McAllen Economic Development Corporation. I participated in several meetings. So there was some headway done.”
Is the Madero International Bridge project in Mission still the Valley’s best hope for an international rail bridge, Torres was asked.
“There is some work already done, so, yeah, it makes sense, from a logistical land access standpoint, to do it through there. Probably, at this point in time, Madero might be the most feasible area to have that rail crossing.”
Asked about RioPlex’s interest in the project, Torres said:
“The consensus from RioPlex is that they're all for it, because that will be part of the strategy for RioPlex to expand, to have more economic development in the region. So, most of the people there, or all the people there, in that group, approve of it or want it to happen.”
Asked what the next steps are, Torres said: “We (RioPlex) are going to have a meeting on January 16. We're going to touch on that subject and maybe create a task force to start the process again. Like you mentioned, there are some people (Armando O’Caña) that are looking into it (right now), but I think with RioPlex and the economic development happening in the area, if we can make a push for it and go up to the government, to the state and federal government, I think we can get some traction on it. Like I said, it's going to take time, but we need to start that process.”
Asked if he has had much feedback in the RioPlex community, Torres said: “Most definitely. This will be one of the priority projects.”
Editor's Note: Here is the Business Journal's interview with Torres:
