The Feds inject money to keep Texas' high speed rail project alive

The Texas high speed rail project has been a topic of discussion for over 10 years now, dating back to when it was just an idea in 2013. Texas Central, the company with plans to build it, has moved goal posts quite dramatically since then. It started off as a private project, with no taxpayer money to be involved. It promised jobs, and another avenue of economic prosperity for Texas.

However, foreign money has been involved, with the likes of companies from Spain, Japan, and Italy all jumping headfirst into the project. The budget has ballooned from $10 billion to a whopping $30 billion. It has also seen its Board of Directors and CEO all leave in 2022, as the project looked dead. But, Biden's Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have resurrected it. As part of a partnership with Amtrak, the project is now getting $500,000 from a feasibility study.

All of it paid for by the good American taxpayer. Adam Andrzejewski of OpenTheBooks.com says this injection opens other cans of worms.

"The Texas Supreme Court gave the company eminent domain rights...now with the partnership with Amtrak, presto...you have a zombie project now taking strides to use eminent domain to take private property, all backed up by federal money," he says.

The topic of eminent domain has been fought by landowners along the proposed track line, from Grimes County up to Leon County. The project has been routinely bailed out by court rulings in their favor.

However, even with all these court wins, it is still baffling the project is still on the table.

"It was supposed to be privately funded...taxpayer dollars are now getting pumped into it, and now the price tag has amplified by three times" he says.

It is amazing the project still needs money as well, considering it has gotten $350 million from a Japanese rail company, plus other injections of funds.

The project has promised all along that not only would this be private, and American made, that it would bring a cascading economic impact to Texas. They mentioned numbers in the billions for revenue, all car salesmen talk with no product to back it up.

Projections for riders at first topped over 6 million. Most recent projections say now they would be lucky to have 1.4 million riders. On top of all that, Amtrak's lowest earners are all Texas lines. Because we just cannot let go of driving.

"This train is on the wrong tracks here in Texas," he says. "It will never make any money."

But, as it always seems to be, this is just part of more push from the Biden administration of a green agenda.

"All these high-speed rail projects across the country fit the environmental narrative of getting cars off the road, and getting people into trains," he says.

One thing is certain, though. If this project stays alive, hang onto your wallet. Because we will most certainly be the ones paying for it.