According to recent reports, efforts to get a high-speed rail rolling here in Texas are gaining some momentum. But that could just be wishful thinking. Or a ploy to try and get some money.
"The cost when originally proposed was supposedly around $10 billion dollars, and it's more than tripled" said Kim Roberts, reporter for The Texan, "The cost of constructing it will exceed $30 billion dollars."
So where is that money going to come from? And will the Texas high-speed rail really ever happen?
"It definitely depends on who you ask" Roberts told KTRH, "The City Council's of Dallas and Houston still seem very supportive, but the legislators along the rural area of the route have filed bills that are not friendly to the high-speed rail, that they're hoping to get through this session."
In other words, with Amtrak now in charge, the funding is going to have to come from private or federal sources. And then there's the other issue. Is there really even a demand right now for a high-speed rail in Texas? And is it greater than the cost?
"I don't think rail is necessarily on people's radar in Texas at this point" noted Roberts.
As for possible federal funding, there's been no word yet from the incoming Trump administration, or 'DOGE', on how they feel about picking up the tab.
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