BRYAN, Texas — The project for a high-speed train through central Texas has been in the works for years but seems to be making slow progress.
- Amtrak officials presented a high-speed train system from Dallas to Houston to the Dallas city council.
- This project is not yet fully funded, but Amtrak officials said they hope to have all the funding by next year.
- The project will also have a parallel route from Fort Worth to Dallas, making it a 21-minute nonstop ride.
BROADCAST SCRIPT:
240 miles in less than 90 minutes sounds like a dream come true. For some, a nightmare.
"To have a private business to come in, and to say, we're going to take your land, it's not fair. It's not right," Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth said.
Fauth is talking about Texas Central, the rail company using eminent domain to force landowners to sell their land to the company to build the tracks.
It's been a back and forth debate over several years. On March 6, officials presented their case to the Dallas city council, saying, “The most compelling city pairing without question is Dallas to Houston.”
Amtrak officials explained why Dallas to Houston is the perfect location for the country's first high speed corridor. Mainly, they are two metropolitan cities with a high travel demand and an ideal distance for minimal stops.
Officials said after COVID-19, the increase in remote work has decreased business travel but leisure travel is making up for it. Riders could take the 90-minute ride to see a show, a sporting event, get dinner, or spend a day in a different city.
The project will have an additional high-speed train connecting Fort Worth to Dallas, making it a 21-minute nonstop ride.
City officials listened with hope and some concern about how this would disrupt current development, but said they needed more time to come to any certain decisions.
The Houston Dallas project is not yet fully funded and does not yet have all the land along the proposed track secured, but Amtrak officials said they're working on getting grants to have enough funding by next year.
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