Bullet Train Between Houston And Dallas Closer To Reality, Houston Terminal And Proposed Route Released

HOUSTON, TX — The proposed high-speed train linking Houston and Dallas picked up steam Thursday. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Texas Central at City Hall, ensuring the rail facilitator that Houston is on board with the project.

The agreement focuses on local economic development and job creation aspects of the project, and it shows maximum connectivity between the Houston train station and the rest of the city. It also pinpoints the general area where the Houston Terminal will be located.

It comes just days after Texas Central announced that Irving-based Fluor Enterprises and The Lane Construction Corporation will handle pre-construction planning, scheduling, cost estimating, design and engineering services, and will be the preferred design build group after the financial close.

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Tim Keith, president of Texas Central, praised the city, noting that "over the project’s entire history – from conception to development, and now into the construction phase – Texas Central has had a strong partnership with the city of Houston."

Turner said Texas Central’s unique investor-led model, combined with the immense scale of the more than $10 billion project, creates a real opportunity for Houston – which so dominated Texas rails that it once was known as the place "where 17 railroads meet the sea."

"As I shared in my State of Mobility address, Houston needs a paradigm shift - a comprehensive approach to mobility that includes all forms of transportation," Turner said. "Certainly, a high-speed train to Dallas is a glowing idea among the options, especially when state transportation officials project traffic congestion on Interstate 45 between Houston and Dallas will double by 2035, increasing travel time from about 4 hours to more than 6.5 hours. Simply building more highways is not the answer."

The purpose of the MOU is to set forth certain commitments between the city and Texas Central with respect to construct and operate a 240-mile-long, privately funded high-speed passenger rail line for trains that reach speeds of 205 mph between Houston and Dallas. Here is the proposed route.

The MOU states that travel between Dallas and Houston will be less than 90 minutes, much less than the four hours by passenger vehicles.

"This innovative high-speed passenger rail technology is not available anywhere else in the country, and will be constructed and operated on a dedicated, grade separated, secure corridor with bullet trains operating at speeds up to 205 mph, enabling Texas Central to provide passengers safe, convenient, reliable and efficient travel between Houston and Dallas in less than 90 minutes with one stop in the Brazos Valley," the MOU reads.

The proposed stop is near Shiro in Grimes County, whose county government and Judge Ben Leman (chairman of Texans Against High Speed Rail) has been extremely vocal in opposition to the project. Many other counties, municipalities, lawmakers and citizens, not just in the Brazos Valley, but all the rural counties between the two large metropolitan cities have expressed opposition, citing a privately-owned company doesn't have the right to eminent domain.

The proposed cost of the project is around $12 billion, which would be privately funded. The MOU states that the project would create 10,000 direct jobs per year during the construction phase, and that many of those jobs will be within the Houston city limits, including the rail line along the Hempstead Highway and the Houston Terminal Station.

"We also look forward to the project’s creation of job opportunities and economic development," Turner said.

Texas Central has continuously said it will not take public funds or grants to fund the project.

Houston businessman Drayton McLane Jr., a member of the Texas Central board of directors and former owner of the Houston Astros, said the project is a game-changer - a new transportation choice that’s fast, safe, reliable and productive.

"The bullet train is the next great deal for Texas. This demonstrates how the free market can play an integral part in addressing America’s enormous infrastructure opportunities. The agreement continues the project’s momentum and shows the nation—and the rest of the world—how Texas does big things the right way for the public good," McLane said.

The project is expected to generate $36 billion in direct economic activity over the next 25 years, create more than 10,000 direct jobs per year during construction and up to 1,000 jobs permanently when operational. The agreement says many of these jobs will involve construction within the city, including building the rail line and the Houston passenger station.

Texas Central states in the MOU that the end-of-the-line site in Houston will be in the general area south of U.S. 290, west of Loop 610 and north of I-10. Texas Central said it will consult with the city prior to finalizing the location of the Houston Terminal Station.

Texas Central also agrees to conduct environmental studies along the route, including Houston. The rail will use shinkansen bullet train technology, commonly seen in Japan, for the project.

Caption: A Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central) Shinkansen bullet train travels along an elevated railway track at dusk on January 19, 2016 in Tokyo, Japan. Japanese rolling-stock manufacturers have been collaborating with the Japan Railways group to expand the business worldwide with its technology and standards used for the shinkansen bullet train system. Texas Central Partners LLC plans to start construction of the Texas Central Railway High-Speed Rail Project between Houston-Dallas next year using the shinkansen bullet train technology.

Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images