Zilker Eagle train aims for March return to Austin

After a nearly five-year absence, Austin's most popular and missed train is planning for a return later this month to Zilker Park, with a new name.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After a nearly five-year absence, Austin's most popular and missed train is planning for a return later this month to Zilker Park, with a new name.

Previously named the "Zilker Zephyr," the train is back under new ownership as the "Zilker Eagle" and will be running on a slightly altered route around Austin's premier park.

Last week the locomotive arrived in Austin, where it's now being kept with the passenger cars under lock and key in a tunnel beneath the park.

Austin Parks Foundation CEO Colin Wallis said the train will now undergo testing before taking on passengers.

"We'll start running the locomotive by itself, and then we'll pull one car and then two cars, and we'll ultimately pull all the cars, test the tracks, test the cars, make sure everything is in good working order," he said. "We've hired some of the staff, but we'll start to hire some more folks, and just really get things ready to go so that once we have passengers, it's a safe experience."

The train originally shut down after a 2019 storm caused the ground below the tracks to erode.

In the time since, the path the train follows has been rerouted, so that it now starts near Barton Springs Pool and turns around at Lou Neff Point, a scenic spot along Lady Bird Lake.

"You have this sweeping view of downtown that's just beautiful," Wallis said. "It's a little bit shorter ride, but that's what we needed to do to get it up and running quicker."

In the aftermath of the 2019 damage, the family that previously operated the train decided they no longer wanted to be involved. In the time since the Austin Park Foundation stepped in to take over.

Wallis said the organization originally thought getting back on track would be a quick process.

"We learned that building miniature trains is a lot harder than you would think, so here we are four years later," Wallis said.

The plan to start is to charge $6 for tickets regardless of a rider's age. However, there will also be a community day once per month where rides are free.

Wallis emphasized that a March opening is the goal, but it's not yet set in stone. There are still plenty of hurdles to overcome with the potential to derail the timeline.

"If things go really well, we'll we'll have it up and running in March," he said. "You'll start to see the train running in the park here in the coming weeks empty at first, then you'll start seeing some people on it. Once we get it running in a manner that feels safe and ready for primetime, we'll open it up to the public."