Denton County Transportation Authority leaders say their A-train passenger rail project is still on track, despite a continued lack of long-term agreements for the use of the rail corridor.

DCTA, the city of Denton and Dallas Area Rapid Transit are still negotiating various issues, including operating rights and the protection of underground utilities in the 21-mile corridor, even as construction on the project is under way.

Officials with all three entities said they hope to soon resolve the issues, some of which have been lingering for years.

“We’re optimistic that this will move forward,” said Mark Nelson, transportation director for the city of Denton, which owns part of the corridor and since March has allowed initial construction work under temporary agreements.

The latest agreement expires Tuesday, and City Council members will have to consider whether to renew it. City leaders say they are trying to protect underground utility lines and ensure that part of the corridor can still be used as a pedestrian and bicycle trail when rail service begins.

In a letter to city officials this month, interim DCTA president Jim Witt said a failure to reach a long-term agreement by Wednesday would throw the project off course.

“DCTA’s position is that without a full right of entry on September 23, 2009, for the entire corridor length, it would become impossible for us to provide revenue service to the city of Denton at either Medpark or the downtown station by December 2010,” Witt wrote.

In an interview last week, though, Witt said DCTA officials continue to think the A-train service can begin by the December 2010 target. Should it not, there aren’t any repercussions except their own disappointment, he said.

Initial construction plans have been altered as the project has moved along. DCTA first intended to build in the north and south ends of the corridor and meet in the middle, but now they are building from the south, Witt said.

The change was related to design work and access to the corridor north of Swisher Road.

“Design issues is the big one,” Witt said. “We have done some things in the north — some clearing and grubbing. We’re further ahead in the southern portion than we are the north, but it’s not an end-of-the-world situation.”

The rail line will link to the DART system in Carrollton, offering Denton commuters service to downtown Dallas. DCTA plans to have stations in downtown Denton, south Denton and at three points south toward Carrollton.

The route will follow the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad line. The city of Denton bought eight miles of that corridor in 1993 and since 2001 has used it as a public walking and biking trail.

In late 2006, city leaders tentatively agreed to let DCTA build its rail line on the trail, which roughly parallels Interstate 35E from Denton to Corinth. In return, the transit authority agreed to build a new trail beside the rail line.

The city and DCTA have been working in earnest to complete that agreement since spring 2008, said Nelson, the city’s transportation director. John Cabrales, a Denton city spokesman, said city leaders are being careful to protect their investments in the rail path, including a 30-inch raw water line, and address issues that have arisen since the 2006 agreement.

Cities along the route’s southern portion haven’t used the rail corridor as much as Denton has, which allowed work there to progress more quickly, Cabrales said.

“We are working as quickly as we can with them and with their contractors to get all the issues resolved so we can have this right-of-entry agreement brought forth for council to consider,” Cabrales said. “The sooner we can get rail service here to Denton, the better it will be for all of us.”

Right-of-way negotiations also continue with DART officials for DCTA’s use of part of the corridor that DART owns. DART officials granted DCTA the ability to start on construction in the south to make the 2010 operation date.

“We own the southern end of it, and we are working with the city of Denton to repurchase some of the northern piece of the right of way,” said Morgan Lyons, spokesman for DART. “We have a line sale contract for a portion of the corridor. We also have rights to repurchase that as part of the agreement, so we are working with the city on that.”

DART also retains the right to use the corridor for freight service, which is part of the talks, Lyons said.

“The ability to return freight service is all part of it. Neither DART nor the city of Denton have any intention of that unless we’re requested by the surface transportation board,” Lyons said. “While it’s always a possibility someone could request that, DART does not have any plans to bring freight service back to the corridor.”

Lyons said the ongoing discussions include who exactly has rights to run a train through the corridor.

“I think it’s all part of it because DART’s seeking to exercise its option under the line sale contract; that would, of course, give us ownership of the full DCTA corridor,” he said. “So we’re continuing to work on that with the city and, with DCTA, work out access to the corridor for them to operate the train.”

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.