Texas bullet train between Dallas and Houston could become reality. How fast will it go?
For nearly four decades, Texans have asked for a bullet train to connect the state's largest cities.
After all, Texas is big, and it can take hours to get from any major Texas city to another. On its worst days, even the 35-mile trek from Dallas to Fort Worth can take hours.
Since December, it seems to become a greater reality for Texans.
As part of a nationwide high-speed rail initiative, President Joe Biden announced on Dec. 8 the allocation of $8.2 billion in new grants for these projects, including $500,000 toward Amtrak's high-speed railway in Texas.
What is the high-speed railway project?
High-speed railway transportation, also known as bullet trains, can travel at speeds of up to 200 mph.
In Texas, the initiative would connect the state's two largest cities, Dallas and Houston, shortening the travel time from hours to 90 minutes. Nearly 100,000 residents travel the 240-mile journey between the two cities each week — and some even more frequently, according to a 2012 study conducted by NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation.
More: Travis County Judge wants Austin included in planned Houston-Dallas bullet train project
With stations planned at The Cedars neighborhood near Downtown Dallas and the Northwest Mall site in Houston, the train would depart every 30 minutes during peak periods each day and hourly during off-peak periods, according to Texas Central, a Dallas-based company that devised the plan. The train would also make one stop along the route in Grimes County.
In an interview with CNBC, Congressman Seth Moulton, D-Mass, who served as the former managing director at Texas Central, emphasized the urgent need for the project as Texas' population grows.
“If you don’t build high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston, then you only have two options,” Rep. Moulton said in the interview. “You can either expand the airport or expand the highway. It’s not going to decrease the travel time between those cities. It’s still going to take at least three hours to get between Dallas and Houston.”
How much will the Texas bullet train cost?
According to an estimate from the Reason Foundation, the project is expected to cost at least $33.6 billion.
Why is the bullet train project controversial?
Stretching approximately 240 miles, the railway will go through private property.
In 2022, the Texas Supreme Court determined that Texas Central, a private entity, met the legal criteria to be classified as a public interurban electric railway company. As a result, the court granted the company the power of eminent domain, enabling it to proceed with construction on private land for the project.
These private properties include residences, in addition to farms and ranches.
One Dallas-based farmer told CNBC that he struggles to sleep at night worrying that the high-speed rail could pass through his property.
“When I was notified by my nephew through an article about eminent domain, I was absolutely shocked,” Jody Berry said in the interview. “Finding out that the high-speed rail could potentially go through our property has made it very difficult for me to sleep."
Berry's family has operated Morney-Berry Farms, which sits along the route, for several generations.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How fast would the Texas bullet train between Dallas and Houston go?
