June 22, 2016 - TRA Newswire
Texas Central, the private concern building a high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston, received an Order of Protection from the Surface Transportation Board to shield proprietary documents from rural lawmakers and landowners that want to kill the project.
In their filing, Texas Central pleaded that the protective order was needed to keep commercially sensitive information guarded within a discovery process. Public disclosure could have an adverse competitive impact on Texas Central.
In their decision the STB said "Good cause exists to grant the motion for protective order. The motion conforms to the Board’s rules at 49 C.F.R. § 1104.14 governing protective orders to maintain the confidentiality of materials submitted to the Board. Issuance of the protective order will ensure that confidential information will be used solely for this proceeding and not for other purposes."
There are over 800 pages of information that are covered by the order of protection. They include traffic data, abstracts, study movement sheets, identification of potential customers, the confidential terms of contracts with customers, suppliers, carriers or other entities, confidential financial and cost information, and other confidential or proprietary business or personal information.
In another development at the STB, national passenger rail carrier Amtrak indicated it is willing to explore opportunities with Texas Central. Amtrak has stations in both Dallas and Houston, which could mean future passenger interchange between the carriers.
Joe McHugh, Amtrak Vice President of Government Affairs and Corporate Communication, said in a letter to the Surface Transportation Board that "Amtrak supports the development of high speed rail service throughout the United States as part of a national passenger rail system capable of meeting the nation's trandsportation needs. Enhancing connectivity between our trains , and with other transportation services that serves routes or destinations we do not directly serve, is one of our most important objectives."
Amtrak has not operated service between Dallas and Houston since 1995 when a leg of the Texas Eagle was discontinued. The service was popular with students at Texas A&M University in College Station. Texas Central hopes to regain that traffic with a high speed rail stop between Bryan-College Station and Huntsville.
Texas Central, the private concern building a high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston, received an Order of Protection from the Surface Transportation Board to shield proprietary documents from rural lawmakers and landowners that want to kill the project.
In their filing, Texas Central pleaded that the protective order was needed to keep commercially sensitive information guarded within a discovery process. Public disclosure could have an adverse competitive impact on Texas Central.
In their decision the STB said "Good cause exists to grant the motion for protective order. The motion conforms to the Board’s rules at 49 C.F.R. § 1104.14 governing protective orders to maintain the confidentiality of materials submitted to the Board. Issuance of the protective order will ensure that confidential information will be used solely for this proceeding and not for other purposes."
There are over 800 pages of information that are covered by the order of protection. They include traffic data, abstracts, study movement sheets, identification of potential customers, the confidential terms of contracts with customers, suppliers, carriers or other entities, confidential financial and cost information, and other confidential or proprietary business or personal information.
In another development at the STB, national passenger rail carrier Amtrak indicated it is willing to explore opportunities with Texas Central. Amtrak has stations in both Dallas and Houston, which could mean future passenger interchange between the carriers.
Joe McHugh, Amtrak Vice President of Government Affairs and Corporate Communication, said in a letter to the Surface Transportation Board that "Amtrak supports the development of high speed rail service throughout the United States as part of a national passenger rail system capable of meeting the nation's trandsportation needs. Enhancing connectivity between our trains , and with other transportation services that serves routes or destinations we do not directly serve, is one of our most important objectives."
Amtrak has not operated service between Dallas and Houston since 1995 when a leg of the Texas Eagle was discontinued. The service was popular with students at Texas A&M University in College Station. Texas Central hopes to regain that traffic with a high speed rail stop between Bryan-College Station and Huntsville.