June 25, 2016 - TRA Newswire
In a 41 page filing to the Surface Transportation Board this week, Texas Central Railway countered its opponents arguments that it should not be allowed to operate a high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. In the filing to the STB Texas Central stated that "opponents of the project seek to muddy the waters by raising a multitude of questions that they claim must be answered before the Board grants construction authority". A petition of exemption to speed along the project has been requested by TCR, to the dismay of rural lawmakers and some landowners who want to kill the bullet train project. According to TCR's projections, trains would be running by the end of 2021 on the 240 mile line at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.
Two organizations identified in Texas Central's response were Texans Against High Speed Rail whose President is Kyle Workman of Jewett, Texas and Delta Troy Interests Ltd, a real estate development company based in Houston. Williams Papadopoulos is shown to be the principal of Delta Troy.
Texas Central said that filings from TAHSR and Delta Troy questioned the costs of construction and operation of the railroad, the business plan, ridership projections, economic benefits and even how many parking spaces would be provided at stations.
TAHSR and Delta Troy had complained about connectivity issues at both the Dallas and Houston proposed stations and that a short walk or connected ride to Amtrak or other transportation carriers would not qualify under the STB as being suitable for interstate passengers. Amtrak, in a seperate filing to the agency, indicated that it is willing to discuss connection options with Texas Central.
The railroad urged the Board to take its customary look at the enviromental impact of the project along with the Federal Railroad Administration and other cooperating agencies but otherwise "the agency should not not stand in the way of new construction going forward".
TCR indicated that "it anticipates that it will obtain the financing necessary to complete this important project that that forcasts of ridership studies reflect a growing demand for high-speed passenger rail service between two of the fast growing metropolitan areas in the United States."
In a 41 page filing to the Surface Transportation Board this week, Texas Central Railway countered its opponents arguments that it should not be allowed to operate a high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. In the filing to the STB Texas Central stated that "opponents of the project seek to muddy the waters by raising a multitude of questions that they claim must be answered before the Board grants construction authority". A petition of exemption to speed along the project has been requested by TCR, to the dismay of rural lawmakers and some landowners who want to kill the bullet train project. According to TCR's projections, trains would be running by the end of 2021 on the 240 mile line at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.
Two organizations identified in Texas Central's response were Texans Against High Speed Rail whose President is Kyle Workman of Jewett, Texas and Delta Troy Interests Ltd, a real estate development company based in Houston. Williams Papadopoulos is shown to be the principal of Delta Troy.
Texas Central said that filings from TAHSR and Delta Troy questioned the costs of construction and operation of the railroad, the business plan, ridership projections, economic benefits and even how many parking spaces would be provided at stations.
TAHSR and Delta Troy had complained about connectivity issues at both the Dallas and Houston proposed stations and that a short walk or connected ride to Amtrak or other transportation carriers would not qualify under the STB as being suitable for interstate passengers. Amtrak, in a seperate filing to the agency, indicated that it is willing to discuss connection options with Texas Central.
The railroad urged the Board to take its customary look at the enviromental impact of the project along with the Federal Railroad Administration and other cooperating agencies but otherwise "the agency should not not stand in the way of new construction going forward".
TCR indicated that "it anticipates that it will obtain the financing necessary to complete this important project that that forcasts of ridership studies reflect a growing demand for high-speed passenger rail service between two of the fast growing metropolitan areas in the United States."