April 24, 2026 - TRA Newswire - Commentary -

A tale of two high-speed rail city pairs. One is a public relations and financial train wreck. The other one, a private concern, still waits patiently. 

Unlike the California high-speed rail pubic project between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which has been plagued with cost overruns, political compromises and poor management oversight, the privately-backed Dallas-Houston bullet train consortium has had different roadblocks to overcome. 

The Golden State route from San Francisco to Los Angeles has mountains to climb (or tunnel through) while the Dallas to Houston line would be relatively flat and follow high-tension power lines for a significant portion of its travel. 

The California public-run project has already compromised the route into other than a complete high-speed line and estimates have ballooned to over a hundred billion dollars to complete it. Bridges and right-of-way have been built but no rail has yet been laid. The Texas Central project relies primarily on private enterprise, intent on delivering the high-speed rail effort on time and on budget to their stakeholders. 

So what slowed this Texas train from tornadic activity in the 2010's down to an armadillo crawl in the 2020's and where is the project now?

Texas Central Railway, the original backers of the Lone Star State route, had lined up some of the biggest names in construction and railroading to put the two mega-cities together within a 90 minute ride on the 240 mile line. However, it had to fend off rural lawsuits and countryside legislators from the start, finally getting the Texas Supreme Court to determine the railroad had eminent domain authority to acquire what would amount to a 100-foot wide strip of land needed for two parallel tracks. 

The first Trump administration had listed the project favorably. In 2017 it was among the top 50 projects around the country deemed worth of federal assistance. Texas Central was awarded two key permits needed to advance the privately-backed railway, a unique change in how railroads operate in America. The sleek, super high-speed Japanese-style trains required new guidance from the Federal Railroad Administration called "Rule of Particular Applicability" (RPA).  The FRA then had to issue its "Record of Decision"(ROD), which was favorable under those operation conditions. 

But Covid hit in 2020 and activity ground to a halt all over the U.S. Political changes in the U.S. in 2021 and Japan, getting wary after heavily investing in the technology and committing hundreds of millions in the high-speed rail attempt, stalled out the forward momentum.

Adding to that, the Texas legislature passed a law that said not a penny of state funds could be allocated for high-speed rail. Texas Rail Advocates considers that a very shortsighted long-term transportation policy when our over-congested roads max out. Any project must now fall within the private sector, which may be able to access some federal funding, if it is available.

Two things have occurred that may change the future dynamics back in favor of the Dallas-Houston bullet train.

1. The 2nd Trump Administration removed Amtrak from the Texas high-speed rail equation, and clawed back funds from the publicly-run agency that the Biden administration had awarded. The reason said to be that the project was out of Amtrak's wheelhouse of running conventional train service.

2. In January 2025, Fort Worth-based Kleinheinz Capital Partners, through a series of transactions with a Japanese government owned lender, acquired 100% ownership of the high-speed rail project. That has resulted in a debt free entity now seeking White House approval to advance the project. Other than a Dallas Morning News op-ed in 2025 from John Kleinheinz that indicated the project is largely "shovel ready", the organization has been relatively silent.

Projects of this magnitude do not happen overnight and this one, which could be the largest investment ever made in a Texas transportation effort, may evolve as conditions change. 

"Texas is a pro-business state, we are growing by leaps and bounds and our highways will only hold so much traffic," according to Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody. "Some 1,500 people move to the Lone Star State every day and they are not bringing their highways with them." 

Will the man in the White House, known as a builder of big, beautiful projects, take a shine to the Texas story of this "tale of two high-speed rail projects" as he did in his first term in office?