LAMPASAS COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — When Bill Hinckley, of Bar H Bar Ranch, looks outside, he sees miles and miles of the Texas Hill Country. That view could soon change.
Hinckley, along with many of his neighbors, is facing a new reality after the proposal of a nearly 27-mile rail line that would run through his property and others in the area. Some homes could be within just a few hundred yards of the tracks.
“We have assembled this ranch over 30 years. We have loved ones buried out here. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and toil. It would be devastating to us,” Hinckley said.
The project, led by Texas Materials Group, a subsidiary of CRH Americas Materials, is designed to transport rock materials from the Burnet quarries to Lampasas County. The company plans to reconstruct 12.5 miles of an old railroad and develop 14.4 miles of new rail line. Recently, the company submitted a petition to the Surface Transportation Board for permission to proceed with the project.
However, the proposal has been met with strong opposition from locals who are concerned about its impact on their homes, the surrounding environment, noise, pollution, and even safety. A local petition circulating between the two counties to stop the railroad has already gathered over 1,700 signatures.
But for many residents, the biggest concern is how the project will affect the land that has been home to their families for generations.
“I’m just one story here,” Hinckley said. “There’s at least 25 or 30, legacy, giant ranches that feel the same way. They’re going to try and pay us. We don’t want their money; we want to be left alone. We want things to stay as they are, like we built it.”
If the project moves forward, it would also dramatically change Hinckley's daily life.
"If the railroad goes where they are proposing, it would take me an hour to get to my barn, that now takes me 2 ½ minutes. So we’re not happy about it," he said.
Hinckley said the community was left in the dark about this project, and it almost reached the point of no return.
"They applied to accelerate their permit, and in their letter, they had all these reasons why they should be approved and we can hurry this up," he said. "In my view, they were trying to hurry this up so we wouldn’t find out about it, because we weren’t notified."
Texas Materials Group sent the following statement to 25 News:
“Texas Materials Group (TMG) recently purchased a railroad right-of-way from the Georgetown Railroad Company that runs through Burnet County. After acquiring the right-of-way, Texas Materials Group submitted a proposal to the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) Office of Environmental Analysis to connect the railroad right-of-way to Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Austin Western Railroads. The STB then provided notice of the proposed shortline railroad to the local residents and public officials in order to obtain public comment.
After the public comment period, the STB will conduct an extensive environmental review and there will be additional time for public comment. TMG is following the STB’s process to establish the shortline railroad and will be engaging with the local community as part of the STB’s approval process.
If approved, the shortline railroad will significantly reduce truck traffic on the local roads by approximately 700-800 trucks per day.”
Still, Hinckley says the fight is far from over.
"I can give you a list of 200 people to talk to and they are going to parrot exactly what I’m saying about how unjust, how unfair, and how heavy-handed this is – so un-Texan. It’s not neighborly,” Hinckley said.
For those impacted by the proposed rail line, comments and thoughts can be submitted to the Surface Transportation Board.
