San Marcos, TX
Two UP lines, 37 crossings, and a quiet zone lost to failed inspections.
Summary
| Metro | Austin |
|---|---|
| Railroads | Union Pacific |
| Open at-grade crossings | 37 |
| Vehicles a day crossing tracks at grade | 252,175 |
| Busiest crossing in the model | Aquarena Springs Dr (973960L): 37,069 vehicles/day, 21 trains/day |
| Growth driver | Austin–San Antonio corridor |
| Data source | FRA Crossing Inventory, retrieved Oct 2, 2026 |
Blockage scenario
Time
$566K
26,383 person-hours a year
Trade
628
truck-hours a year, worth $22K in driver time
Pollution
43 t
CO₂ from 4,738 gallons idled, like 9.3 cars for a year
Example scenario. No blockage reports have been compiled for this city yet.
| Blockages modeled per crossing per year | 156 |
|---|---|
| Vehicles stopped by one blockage | 901 |
| Trucks stopped by one blockage | 32 |
| Person-hours lost per year | 26,383 |
| Value of lost time per year | $566K |
| Truck-hours idled per year | 628 |
| Gallons of fuel idled per year | 4,738 |
| CO₂ per year (metric tons) | 43 |
Screening estimate. Each selected crossing is blocked for the set time; drivers wait half of it on average. Method and sources
Crossings in the model
| Crossing | USDOT ID | Vehicles/day | Trains/day | Trucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 973960L | 37,069 | 21 | 3% | |
| 415507U | 24,720 | 19 | 4% | |
| 415677N | 24,720 | 12 | 4% |
Uncheck a crossing to remove it from the scenario. "~" truck shares use the city's traffic-weighted average where the inventory reports none.
On the record
- Trains have sounded horns since May 2024, after FRA inspections cost the city its quiet zones. 18 crossings needed minor repairs and 6 needed major ones, including Hopkins St.
Community Impact · Mar 31, 2025 ↗ - The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metro reached 2,620,945 people in 2025 (+53,796), the sixth-largest gain in the U.S.
U.S. Census Bureau · Mar 26, 2026 ↗