AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin City Council has until mid-August to decide whether to ask voters in November to use bond money to launch urban rail.

If the money is approved, city officials said the first trains could run by 2021. Officials heard a presentation on the project on Tuesday.

• View the presentation .

Phase 1 would run 5.5 miles, connecting downtown with the Capitol Complex, the University of Texas and the Mueller development in Northeast Austin. It would also offer two connections to the currently operating MetroRail Red Line, in addition to planned high-quality MetroRapid buses operating in the North Lamar/South Congress and Burnet/South Lamar corridors.

This first phase alone would cost about $550 million. The Federal Transit Authority could pay up to half of that amount.

Local money would be required for the remaining $275 million. Most – around $250 million – would likely come from bonds. Parking meter revenue, sales tax revenue owned by Capital Metro, and vehicle emissions are ideas for the remaining funding.

“If council and the public ask us to deliver, we want to give them practical information, but with the intent to do it under budget and ahead of schedule,” said Austin transportation director Robert Spillar.

In addition, annual operating costs would begin at $16 million and increase by 3 percent each year after that. The city estimates around $2.4 million a year from train passes, which could help offset that cost.

Some at City Hall doubt the likelihood of this project starting this year, as planning is about five months behind schedule.

In the future, a second phase is a possibility. It is a four-mile stretch from downtown, crossing Lady Bird Lake and ending in Southeast Austin near East Riverside and Pleasant Valley drives.

City Council will hear more about the plan at a May 29 work session.