March 10, 2025 - RailwayAge.com, David Peter Alan -
The big buzz and bigger controversy around Texas during the past several years has been a proposal by a company called Texas Central to build and operate a high-speed rail line between Downtown Dallas and a point in the Houston area, about eight miles from downtown Houston where two highways intersect, a great spot for a parking lot, but not such a great spot for connecting transit to take passengers the “last mile” or more to their final destinations in a place that looks more like Houston.
Houstonians, through their elected officials, thought it would be a great idea to have a railroad like that. Some Dallasites did not seem quite as enthusiastic, but they liked the idea, too. In between, it seems that almost everybody hated it. They’re still fighting it today, but that’s getting ahead of the story.
Photo credit: Texas Central
Editors note: David Peter Alan, Contributing Editor at Railway Age, will speak at the 21st Annual Southwestern Rail Conference, April 7-8 at the Hurst Texas Conference Center. Early registration ends March 22.