The long-discussed Dallas-to-Houston bullet train continues to encounter hurdles as it lacks a final timeline and financing, despite assurances from the company behind the effort that the project remains viable.
The ambition of establishing a high-speed rail line to ferry passengers between the two major Texas cities in approximately 90 minutes has been put forth by private entity Texas Central.
Since its announcement a decade ago, the project has suffered numerous delays and undergone leadership changes.
Andy Gent, a representative for Texas Central, recently addressed the Texas House Transportation Committee, stating that recent developments, including the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw $64 billion in federal support intended for project partner Amtrak, will not hinder the bullet train’s progress.
Related to this issue, the Trump administration has indeed pulled support from the proposed Dallas-to-Houston bullet train.
The announcement from the Department of Transportation on Monday indicated that Texas Central views Amtrak’s lead role in the initiative as no longer appropriate, a perspective that project leaders support.
“So what happens with Amtrak, and … a federalization of the project is it comes with a lot of so-called red tape that must take place on the procurement side,” Gent explained.
“Amtrak, because of the process, has to rebid the work. So I think what the Department of Transportation is saying, and we agree with, is they don’t want them spending the money in the way in which Amtrak was proposing to spend it,” he added.
Gent pointed out, “We think Amtrak’s under a lot of pressure, just generally, with the Trump administration, and so we support what the Department of Transportation is saying.”
Earlier this month, committee members issued a subpoena compelling Texas Central to furnish additional information concerning the project during a hearing focusing on House Bill 2003, which aims to mandate that the company share project details with the state on a regular basis.
Relatedly, lawmakers have expressed growing frustration with Texas Central, questioning their transparency and information-sharing practices during the ongoing discussions.
While company representatives worked to provide requested details last Thursday, several legislators voiced disappointment that many questions regarding the project remained without answers.
Many financial aspects of Texas Central are currently uncertain, particularly after the acquisition of Japanese investors by Kleinheinz Capital Partners, led by Texas investor John Kleinheinz, in January.
Gent provided limited updates on the anticipated timeline for the project, which Kleinheinz supported by labeling it as “shovel-ready” in a recent statement.
“We’re not prepared to say go, but the schedule would look as follows if we said go: We think it’ll roughly take six months to complete the kind of finalization of the planning effort … and that involves relooking at the road, relooking at the utilities, and relooking at all the disruption that’s going to take place over the 240-mile segment,” Gent commented.
He further explained, “During that time period, we would be working on the financing, we would be working on the application for the Surface Transportation Board final permit, and we would anticipate that we could get that stuff done, let’s say by the end of this year.”
“If all of that stuff is approved by the end of this year, the build schedule we think will take between 80 and 86 months.”
Meanwhile, the North Central Texas Council of Governments indicated on Tuesday that the changes at Texas Central, including the loss of federal funds, would not have an immediate impact on their plans to develop a shorter higher-speed rail route between Dallas and Fort Worth.
Particularly, planners hope this regional line will connect to the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail option in the future.
“In 20 years, the region will be 12.5 million people, and … I can’t imagine a region of 12.5 million people without a high-speed rail line down the backbone of that particular corridor,” said Michael Morris, the transportation director at NCTCOG.
Morris emphasized, however, that plans for a regional line only “make sense” in conjunction with the Dallas-Houston route, adding, “Dallas-Fort Worth all on its own can only happen with some huge interest on the economic development [side].”
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