On April 11, 2024, the governments of the United States and Japan signaled support for the project after their leaders met in Washington. President Joe Biden is seeking to revive interest in the project.[11]
Company
Lone Star High-Speed Rail LLC was founded in 2009, changing its name to Texas Central Railway in 2012.[12] Texas Central Partners, LLC (TCP), was founded on September 24, 2013,[13] as the company to build and operate the service, with the rail line itself owned by the separate Texas Central Railway (TCR).[12] Texas Central Partners is working with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and TxDOT to develop the Environmental Impact Statement required by NEPA.[14] In July 2015 the company announced that it had secured $75million of private funding to allow the project to move forward from feasibility studies to development planning.[15]
On June 11, 2022, CEO Carlos Aguilar stepped down after leading Texas Central since December 2016.[16] Since 2022, Michael Bui acts as CEO.[17] In 2023, Amtrak began working with the company to revive the project, including submitting applications to federal programs for grant funds.[18][19]
Route
On August 10, 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a report that supported the so-called utility corridor for the line.[20] In December 2017, the FRA further released their draft environment impact statement for the High-Speed Rail that proposed the preferred route.[21]
The line was expected to use a variation of the N700 Series Shinkansen modified for export, referred to as the N700-I.[24] However, following the launch of the N700S in Japan, focus has shifted onto this newer model.[2] Its modular buildup makes it easier to change the train length from the 16 cars used in Japan and it is tested for higher top speeds, removing the need to perform expensive modifications. Trains in the US will consist of eight cars and are expected to have a top speed of 205mph (330km/h). Their tested speed in Japan is 224mph (360km/h), but they are only allowed to operate at 186mph (299km/h) due to strict noise regulations, as trains pass through many urban residential areas.[2]
In June 2017, it was stated that construction would begin in 2019 and would support 10,000 jobs during each year of the construction process and 1,500 permanent jobs once operations begin.[27] In May 2018, Texas Central announced that global engineering firm Bechtel will work with bullet train developer Texas Central on project management.[28] On September 13, 2018, the company earned a $300million loan for permitting, design and engineering.[29] The company selected Salini Impregilo and its U.S. subsidiary Lane Construction Company to lead the civil construction consortium that will build the Texas passenger line, to the top of the rails, including viaducts, embankments and drainage.[30]
In January 2018, plans for the station in Dallas were released as the preferred location identified by the Federal Railroad Administration in their Draft Environmental Impact Statement.[22]
In October 2018, Texas Central named Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora as the train's operating partner. Spain has the largest and most sophisticated high-speed rail system in the Western world, second only to China's, most of it consisting of Renfe's AVE. Renfe will run the trains; maintain system components, such as the engines, signals and other equipment; oversee ticketing, passenger loyalty programs and other services.[31]
In September 2019, Texas Central signed a further design-build contract with the joint venture Salini-Lane to lead the effort to supply the civil infrastructure scope of design, construction and installation as well as the design and construction of the viaduct and embankment sections along the entire route, the installation of the track system and the alignment and construction of all buildings and services along the route that will house maintenance and other rail system equipment. Construction is slated to begin as early as 2021 and end in 2026.[32][33]
In February 2019, Texas Central announced that it had contracted Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) for ecological mitigation services to help protect and enhance natural ecosystems and the environmental throughout construction and operations.[34] Also that month, Texas Central named Citi and MUFG as its financial advisers to spearhead its capital-raising efforts.[35] The Federal permitting the Record of Decision was due by March 27, 2020,[36] and a $5.9billion design and operation contract was awarded to Renfe in February 2020.[37] FRA regulatory approvals came in September 2020, with construction expected to commence relatively shortly thereafter.[38]
In June 2021, the $16billion design and construction contract for the line itself was awarded to Webuild, with construction expected to begin in late 2021 or early 2022.[39]
In September 2021, the CEO of Texas Central, Carlos Aguilar, stated in an interview that there was a 50/50 chance that construction would commence within six months, and that much depended on a major infrastructure bill passing the US Congress.[40]
Legal issues
The right-of-way to be acquired from private property owners is a significant factor for the project. Ranchers living along the proposed route have challenged the company's attempts to survey and construct the line,[41] questioning their right to eminent domain. Grimes County has opposed the project.[42]
Texas Central Railroad filed a lawsuit against a landowner that refused to allow survey crews onto his land. The railroad filed for summary judgment in the case, Texas Central Railroad and Infrastructure vs Calvin House, arguing that it was entitled to require private landowners to allow land surveys for possible future eminent domain purchases under Texas state law. However, in a December 2016 ruling, a Harris County court denied the railroad's petition for summary judgment.[43]
In February 2019, a Leon County District Judge ruled that Texas Central is not a railroad company and therefore does not have the right to conduct surveys on private land.[44]
In July 2019, Texas's 14th Court of Appeals reversed a previous decision by a lower court which granted summary judgment and issued a permanent injunction in Grimes County's public-nuisance suit against Texas Central and Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers, Inc.[45]
In May 2020, Texas's 13th Court of Appeals ruled that Texas Central Railroad and Infrastructure, Inc. and Integrated Texas Logistics, Inc. are both railroad companies and interurban electric railways.[46]
The case James Fredrick Miles v. Texas Central Railroad and Integrated Texas Logistics, Inc. was appealed to the Supreme Court of Texas.[47] The Ellis County commissioners' court, and other counties along the proposed route which oppose high-speed rail, filed an amicus brief in support of the challenge to the project.[48] On June 18, 2021, the state supreme court denied review without comment, thereby letting stand the lower appellate court's ruling.[49] A motion for rehearing was filed by the landowner on July 29, 2021, which was followed by numerous amicus curiae letters weighing in on the merits of the project.[50]
On October 15, 2021, the Texas Supreme Court withdrew its denial, reinstated the petition, and set the case for oral argument on January 11, 2022.[51][52] The key legal issue is whether Texas Central qualifies as a "railroad company" or an "interurban electric railway," and whether an entity must show reasonable probability of project completion to invoke eminent domain authority under Texas Rice Land Partners, LTD. v. Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC, 363 S.W.3d 192 (Tex. 2012).[53][54]
On July 16, 2020, the federal Surface Transportation Board ruled that Texas Central Railroad is part of the interstate rail network based on its through-ticketing with Amtrak, and therefore subject to the STB's jurisdiction.[55]
The Shinkansen, colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is owned by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency and operated by five Japan Railways Group companies.
Ennis is a city in eastern Ellis County, Texas, United States. The population is 20,159 according to the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 23,686 in 2023. Ennis is home to the annual National Polka Festival.
Renfe, officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company.
Rail transport in Spain operates on four rail gauges and services are operated by a variety of private and public operators. Total railway length in 2020 was 15,489 km. The Spanish high-speed rail network is the longest HSR network in Europe with 3,966 km and the second longest in the world, after China's.
Dallas Union Station, officially Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, also known as Dallas Union Terminal, is a large intermodal railroad station in Dallas, Texas. It is the third busiest Amtrak station in Texas, behind Fort Worth Central Station and San Antonio station. It serves DART light rail Blue and Red lines, Trinity Railway Express commuter rail and Amtrak inter-city rail. It is located on Houston Street, between Wood and Young Streets, in the Reunion district of Downtown Dallas. The structure is a Dallas Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about 494 miles (795 km) long, is planned to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim via the Central Valley, and is partially funded and under construction. A proposed Phase 2 would extend the system north to Sacramento and south to San Diego, for a total of 776 miles (1,249 km). The project was authorized by a 2008 statewide ballot to connect the state's major urban areas and reduce intercity travel times. Phase 1 targets a nonstop travel time of 2 hours and 40 minutes from San Francisco to Los Angeles, compared to about nine hours on the existing Amtrak San Joaquins. California legislative overseers don't expect the 2 hr 40 min target will be achieved.
Plans for high-speed rail in the United States date back to the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. Various state and federal proposals have followed. Despite being one of the world's first countries to get high-speed trains, it failed to spread. Definitions of what constitutes high-speed rail vary, including a range of speeds over 110 mph (180 km/h) and dedicated rail lines. Inter-city rail with top speeds between 90 and 125 mph is sometimes referred to in the United States as higher-speed rail.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is a governmental agency and its purpose is to "provide safe, effective, and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with maintenance of the state's immense highway system, the agency is also responsible for aviation in the state and overseeing public transportation systems.
This is a list of planned, or proposed, high-speed rail projects by country. Although a number of countries have conducted preliminary feasibility studies, many lines are eventually shelved or postponed due to high costs; only a few nations are building high-speed rail lines. Planned lines are separated here from lines under construction, and some countries have both. High-speed rail is public transport by rail at speeds over 200 km/h (125 mph).
Brightline West is a privately run high-speed rail route, currently under construction, to link the Las Vegas Valley and Rancho Cucamonga in Greater Los Angeles through the California high desert. The line will connect with existing rail at Rancho Cucamonga station of Metrolink's San Bernardino Line, a commuter rail line in Southern California. The project is intended to provide an alternative to air and automobile travel between Southern California and Las Vegas, a popular leisure destination. In December 2023, the United States Department of Transportation awarded Brightline West a $3 billion grant as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Construction, initially expected to begin shortly after the grant was announced in 2023, began on April 22, 2024. Revenue service is planned to start in 2028.
The Haramain High Speed Railway, is a passenger railway serving the Mecca and Medina provinces in western Saudi Arabia. The 449.2-kilometre-long (279.1 mi) main line directly connects the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, via Jeddah and the King Abdullah Economic City. A 3.75-kilometre (2.33 mi) branch line provides connections to the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. It opened to the public on 11 October 2018.
The Silver Line, also known as the Cotton Belt Rail Line, is an under construction 26-mile (42 km) hybrid rail line traversing Collin, Dallas, and Tarrant Counties in the U.S. state of Texas operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). The line will provide service from Dallas's northeast suburbs of Plano, Richardson, and Addison to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Terminal B.
Roans Prairie is an unincorporated community in Grimes County, in east central Texas, United States. State Highways 30 and 90 intersect here, seventeen miles northeast of Navasota in central Grimes County.
Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor (MAHSR) or Mumbai–Ahmedabad HSR is an under-construction high-speed rail line, which will connect Mumbai, the financial hub of India, with Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat. When completed, it will be India's first high-speed rail line, with a top speed of 320 km/h (200 mph).
The Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC) was an 872-mile (1403-km) railway system chartered in Texas in 1848, with construction beginning in 1856. The line eventually stretched from Houston northward to Dallas and Denison, Texas, with branches to Austin and Waco.
Brightline is an intercity rail route in the United States that runs between Miami and Orlando, Florida. Part of the route runs on track owned and shared by the Florida East Coast Railway.
Higher-speed rail (HrSR) is the jargon used to describe inter-city passenger rail services that have top speeds of more than conventional rail but are not high enough to be called high-speed rail services. The term is also used by planners to identify the incremental rail improvements to increase train speeds and reduce travel time as alternatives to larger efforts to create or expand the high-speed rail networks.
Northeast Maglev is a private U.S. company proposing a maglev train system in the Northeastern United States. The company aims to use the SCMaglev superconducting maglev system developed by the Central Japan Railway Company to provide 15-minute service between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., with an intermediate stop at BWI Airport, and ultimately connect major Northeast metropolitan hubs and airports with a goal of one-hour service from Washington, D.C., to New York City.
1 2 3 "Learn The Facts". Texas Central. October 28, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2019. ...Shinkansen trains can travel smoothly and comfortably at speeds up to 205 mph. Train service in Texas will likely begin at 186 mph, which will allow for a total trip time of less than 90 minutes between Houston and Dallas. Subject to regulatory approval and market demands, maximum train speeds could be increased up to 205 mph....'
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