Dallas to Houston in 90 minutes — that’s how long officials say it would take to make the usual five-hour drive on a bullet train.
And now, that high-speed rail line is one step closer to becoming a reality: Amtrak announced on Wednesday it is exploring a partnership with Dallas-based Texas Central to study the potential for a bullet train connecting Houston to North Texas. The idea has been thrown around for decades, but now local and regional leaders say it could really happen.
“I hope there's a partnership to reignite interest in high speed rail between the Dallas and Houston communities, the fourth and fifth largest regions of the United States,” said Michael Morris with the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Morris told KERA the route would be part of an interconnected regional rail system.
“We're not just talking Dallas to Houston but we're talking Fort Worth to Houston,” he said.
A news release from Amtrak and Texas Central says they have applied for several grant programs to fund the study and design of the 240-mile route, which Amtrak estimates could “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 100,000 tons per year, saving 65 million gallons of fuel while removing 12,500 cars per day from I-45.”
"This high-speed train, using advanced, proven Shinkansen technology (from Japan), has the opportunity to revolutionize rail travel in the southern U.S., and we believe Amtrak could be the perfect partner to help us achieve that," Texas Central CEO Michael Bui said in the news release. "We appreciate Amtrak's continued collaboration and look forward to continuing to explore how we can partner in the development of this important project."
The project appeared to have fizzled out last year, because land acquisitions along the proposed railway reportedly slowed and previous Texas Central CEO Carlos Aguilar resigned. The plan has gotten significant pushback from rural landowners along the proposed route, but a Texas Supreme Court ruling last June gave Texas Central the legal authority to acquire land through eminent domain, offering a glimmer of hope to supporters.
The news release issued Wednesday included endorsements from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. The potential collaboration between Texas Central and Amtrak also drew praise from the Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development organization for the region.
If built, the bullet train would be the first of its kind in the U.S.
