Amtrak was awarded nearly $64 million in federal funding for a Dallas to Houston high-speed rail line, a highly sought-after state development.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration made over $153 million in funding for the Restoration and Enhancement Grant Program available in July, and the project was awarded $63.9 million in a grant. The high-speed rail project has long been considered as a viable option to connect two large populations in Texas cities and provides alternatives to drivers on Interstate 45 and to area airports.
“The quality of our intercity passenger rail services has a major impact not only on the experiences of millions of riders but also on the economic vitality of our communities as well as our efforts to combat climate change,” said Pete Buttigieg, transportation secretary, in a July release.
Still, it will take billions of dollars to actually complete the high-speed rail project.
The proposed train would shuttle passengers from Dallas to Houston in about 90 minutes compared to the three-and-a-half-hour car trip along Interstate 45. Texas Central Partners, developers of the project, plan to model the bullet train after partner Japan Central Railways’ Shinkansen system.
There’s still a long way to go to get the project off the ground, but rail leaders are encouraged.
“From a federal perspective, we cannot overlook how big of a state that Texas obviously is and how much growth is happening here, especially in the Dallas and Houston metropolitan areas,” said Amit Bose, Federal Railroad Administration administrator, at a rail conference in April. “We always look for opportunities to give people who want to travel between these two metropolitan areas [and] not just rely on I-45, not to just have [to] sit in traffic on I-45, so we want to explore options.”
