High Speed Rail

The constant traffic jams on I-35 create problems that hold back Texas, Texas lawmakers were told on Monday. And the solution could be high-speed rail between San Antonio and Dallas.

Fort Worth and Arlington — Tarrant County’s tourism hotspots — plan to work together to study the economic benefits of a proposed high-speed rail route to Dallas.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said if the private sector wants the rail line, it should cover planning costs.

A regional group approved funding for Dallas developer’s legal fight over the effects of a high-speed route from Fort Worth to Dallas.

The Regional Transportation Council, an independent policy group of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, could allocate $1 million in funding “in preparation for potential litigation” by Dallas-based Hunt Realty Investment Inc. related to an environmental assessment for high-speed rail in the Fort Worth-Dallas area.

Nine Dallas officials went to Japan to look into a high-speed rail system. It cost the city over $50,000.

Democratic state Rep. John Bucy pre-filed two bills in the Texas Legislature that would kick-start a high speed rail line along the I-35 corridor and direct funding to bullet train projects.

North Texas leaders plan to urge state legislators to create a statewide high-speed rail authority with eminent domain powers to support and coordinate efforts to build bullet train routes to Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, Houston and possibly other areas.

The 240-mile route would take under 90 minutes and travel at a top speed of 204 MPH, according to Amtrak.

As Tarrant County rapidly grows, the need for more transit options is increasingly apparent. Just take a drive if you want proof.

Members of the Regional Transportation Council approved additional funding for a high-speed rail study involving Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas.

The state’s booming population, congestion problems and billions of federal dollars on the table have officials eyeing ways to boost passenger rail.