Houston Chronicle
During the Southwestern Regional Rail Conference , Amtrak's Senior Vice President, Andy Byford , reaffirmed that the national rail company is collaborating with its partner, Texas Central, to develop a high-speed train. Byford stated that the construction of this train could commence in the "early 2030s," KERA NEWS reported.
"This is very much a project that Amtrak is now leading," Byford said, as reported by KERA NEWS. "I have to make sure that in any recommendation I give to my CEO and my board, that is a project that is worthwhile pursuing. And right now, having looked at the revenue forecasts and done our due diligence to date, I still think that is the case. That again, though, does not mean that it's a done deal."
The Houston -to- Dallas bullet train requires land acquisition along its route, with only 30 percent of the land needed currently secured, Byford said. It will cost at least $30 billion and needs broad political support and a mix of private and public funding. Despite opposition from rural property owners along the route, Amtrak officials view it as one of the most viable high-speed railways in the U.S. due to the large populations of the two cities and the relatively flat topography between them.
The 240-mile high-speed railway announced a decade ago faced challenges securing land acquisitions and dealing with a lawsuit regarding eminent domain authority. However, the project has cleared many hurdles, securing federal approval for the proposed route and legal authority to acquire land through eminent domain after a Texas Supreme Court ruling in 2022.
Amtrak received $500,000 from the federal government last year to work on the early stages of work in connecting the two metro areas. But that money doesn't indicate a commitment for them to foot any more of the full cost of the project.
The project has recently been in the national spotlight, as part of President Joe Biden's and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's talks during his visit last week.
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