The head of North Texas’ regional transportation authority told Arlington officials they will need to figure out how to pay their share for the proposed high-speed rail project that includes a stop in town.
Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, showed city council members plans for the project that would put an underground train station and retail destination underground around AT&T Way.
The Tarrant County stretch of the high-speed rail line would go underground along Interstate 30 or alongside the thruway.
That train stop would play into the city’s economic development needs and complement programs like Arlington’s newly announced electric vertical takeoff and landing program. It would also provide a connection to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, South Texas and eventually Mexico.
There’s just one thing.
“The policy question for Arlington is how are you going to partner with a transportation authority as the mechanism to help move some of these items through … As part of the conversation, you don’t get high-speed rail for free; you become a partner with the rest of the system,” Morris said.
Mayor Jim Ross said Arlington has covered significant ground in transportation initiatives such as Via rideshare. He pointed to a study underway on how to unify the multiple transportation authorities in the region.
“I think Arlington’s been doing quite a bit about transportation. We’re just being wise about how we do it and how we enter agreements with other parts of North Texas,” Ross said.
Morris said Arlington has been a leader in transportation solutions in place of traditional buses or trains. Arlington voters have thrice rejected propositions that would have either let the city join a transit authority or form one of its own.
“I think Arlington’s technology-based transit investment, you skipped two or three or four or five generations of transit,” Morris said.
Preparing for the World Cup
As host cities wait to hear who is awarded the coveted final game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Morris said the region’s plan holds a “special sauce.”
He said FIFA officials have asked him and other NCTCOG staffers to work with other host cities on their transportation plans.
Morris said they would help if FIFA announces Arlington as the final game site.
“They said, ‘You only will help us if you get the final game?’ We said, ‘No, we’re gonna help you, but we’re not going to help them before your announcement,’” Morris said.
Morris and other regional planners for the 2026 games have touted a range of transportation options that include bus-only lanes on interstates known as “managed lanes;” charter buses; passenger rail services along the Union Pacific Railroad; and air travel.
“There is redundancy of major magnitude built into our particular plan that has not even begun to be thought of in our competitive other communities,” Morris said.
Regional planning officials will conduct a test run of their World Cup plans during the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
An announcement from FIFA on the final game is expected by the end of the year. Arlington is considered a top contender for the final, along with New York and Los Angeles.
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