It’s full steam ahead for the long-planned bullet train connecting Houston with Dallas. The latest development is completion of an environment impact statement on the project by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). As part of its approval process, the FRA is holding another public meeting on the project this week in Houston.
The train is a privately-funded project estimated to cost $12 billion, connecting Houston and Dallas via a 90-minute ride along a 240-mile corridor at speeds of up to 205 miles-per-hour. Railway stops are already being planned for both Dallas and Houston, and officials with the project's parent company Texas Central say the earliest the train would be running is 2024. "The Texas bullet train will be the first high-speed train in the United States," says Holly Reed with Texas Central. "It will connect two major economies and almost half the population of the state of Texas."
In particular, Texas Central is stressing the potential economic benefits from the project. "This will have positive impacts on so many people in so many communities, between the jobs, the economic benefit, and the taxes the project will pay since it's not a government project," says Reed. She tells KTRH those positive impacts will be felt long before the train opens. "During construction, we will need 10,000 people to build the train every year," says Reed.
The meeting seeking public input on the project is tonight from 6 to 10 p.m. at Woodard Elementary School, 17501 Cypress North Houston Road.