A&M Freight Shuttle

improve international trade. cut pollution. decrease wait times and increase security. the texas a&m transportation institute says it has a plan to do it all! abc-7’s evan folan is live with the details. the institute plans on doing all that right here in el paso. if everything works out- we could see the builders breaking ground in 2 years – but it comes with a price tag. ” i think anyone familiar wit cross border trade understand that idling in traffic 90 minutes each direction is a very unproductive way to conduct business” and the texas a&m transportation institute wants that to change – with its freight shuttle system. this animation showing how the system operates. “i essentially gives customers their own private lane across the border” the shuttle uses single transporter with steel wheels carrying the truck’s trailer – on a dedicated, elevated guideway across the international border … ” it is an ideal system for the enviroment el paso represents” it is very robust economic enviroment that needs to have the ability to move goods freely across the border.” “one of the things the freigh shuttle does is it elevates security as well as facilitating trade.” adding it would cut down on pollution and wait times at the port of entry… but there a large price tag…. ” project could be put in place in el paso juarez for roughly 250 million dollars.” the cos covering 12 total miles of track six miles of it on us soil – connected to another six in mexico. “as a private venture private finance operated and maintained it could make a nice return on investment for owners of the system” but before construction begins – there is a big hurdle standing in the way. the cross- border system would require a presidential permit but before construction begins – there is a big hurdle standing in the way. the cross- border system would require a presidential permit to build… something that could take at least two years to get. evan, thank you .. and breaking down the numbers of the proposed freight shuttle… it could do a lot of good for the the environment. a shuttle would use one-third of the energy used by heavy-duty diesel trucks at one-sixth of the cost! as for the economy, those behind the project say the shuttle would be capable of transporting more than 300-thousand tons of goods each day … in each direction! and a single elevated guideway could take more than 86- hundred shipments every day.