STAFFORD, Texas -- For some, the thought of mass-transit rail service is bad news. But for thousands in Fort Bend County, commuter rail cannot pull into the station fast enough.

The mayor of Stafford complains that Metro is overlooking Fort Bend County and is not working fast enough to bring commuter rail to the county. He thinks he knows why.

“They seem more interested in putting (rail in) for people who don’t want it than giving it to people who want it, need it and (are) basically begging for it,” said Mayor Leonard Scarcella. “They don’t want to challenge Union Pacific.”

Tens of thousands of people commute daily from Fort Bend and southwest Houston to downtown and the Texas Medical Center. So, there’s no argument from Metro that some kind of mass transit is needed. The problem in getting commuter rail to the suburbs is one that has been around for a while.

Scarcella complains that Metro is unwilling to talk to the railroad company about sharing the line that already exists. And while there appears to be room to run a parallel line along the same route, Union Pacific holds the right of way and may be holding onto it for expansion of its freight rail service.

Metro would also have to pay Union Pacific for the use of the line that already exists. Scarcella suspects that Metro is looking for ways to not deal with the railroad company at all.

Metro also isn’t so sure that running the same line, which runs down the Highway 90A corridor, is the only solution. But the mass transit group acknowledges that Union Pacific’s presence has something to do with their concerns.

“What we’re trying to consider is all the other options, including looking at a way that you can avoid Union Pacific,” said Metro spokesman John Haley. “If you’re talking about running (on) their track, then it’s necessary to make a deal that gives them a fair deal.”

A Union Pacific spokesman talked to 11 News by phone and confirmed that there is indeed room for three additional rail lines parallel to its existing line. The spokesman confirmed that the company is holding onto that land to meet its own expansion needs as ever-increasing fuel prices are pushing truck hauling of goods to rail freight.

Ironically, those same higher gas prices have many in Fort Bend pushing for commuter rail.