March 31, 2026 - TRA Newswire -

A Dallas to Houston high-speed train trip could be achieved in just 60 minutes with the newest breakthroughs in rail technology, according to a former Texas Central executive, now serving in Congress.

Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) served as Managing Director in the early days of Texas Central Railway at their Dallas offices and helped steer the railroad company through its early development of the high-speed rail project between Dallas and Houston.

Progress on the Dallas to Houston bullet train collapsed during the pandemic and again while waiting for the Texas Supreme Court to determine that Texas Central had eminent domain authority. In January 2025 Texas Central was reorganized and continues to work toward its goal of high-speed rail between the two mega-regions under the direction of Kleinheinz Capital Partners, based in Fort Worth. 

"If we had high-speed rail today we could get from Dallas to Houston in 60 minutes. When I was working on this project 15 years ago we were talking about 90 minutes, but the new standards and new speeds lower the time," according to Moulton, who spoke before the World Affairs Council of Dallas-Fort Worth. "No security lines, no weather delays, in fact in Spain if the train is 15 minutes late you get a full refund. Imagine that from Southwest or American?" 

Moulton and Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) previously introduced the American High-Speed Rail Act in Congress, which proposed a $205 billion, five-year federal investment to build a national high-speed rail network. The bill aims to create 2.6 million jobs, prioritize sustainable, equitable projects, and establish safety standards

Congressman Moulton told the audience that "I think there will be an inflection point in America when we get one high-speed rail line, maybe a couple built, and enough Americans ride it to say this is crazy, why do we not have that."

He said that high-speed rail is really a political story and pointed to lobbyists that have prevented long-term infrastructure investments. "There are powerful interest groups that influence unduly too many of my colleagues in Congress. We don't make what most other countries realize is a sensible investment," according to Moulton.

A report on the progress of Texas Central a/k/a Kleinheinz Capital Partners high-speed rail effort is due out this year. The Texas legislature passed a bill in 2025 which requires any company involved in high-speed rail to file a yearly report. That public document, when submitted, will be posted on the Texas Department of Transportation website.