Photo courtesy Texas Central Rail
Updated Feb. 17 at 2:50 p.m. to include comments from a representative of Texas Central Railway.
After two possible rail lines were identified by the Federal Railroad Administration last fall, Texas Central Railway announced its final corridor recommendation Feb. 17 for the proposed construction of a 240-mile high-speed rail from Houston to Dallas by 2021.
TCR officials recommend the FRA move forward with consideration of the utility corridor expected to travel near Hwy. 290 in Harris County and north through a portion of Grimes County.
"We selected the utility corridor as the best alternative because it satisfies the goals of the project to provide safe, reliable, and economically viable high-speed rail service between Houston and Dallas," said David Hagy, executive director of community outreach for TCR. "The utility corridor will also reduce the project's impact on communities and landowners by following existing rights of way as much as possible."
According to TCR, officials plan to recommend the FRA consider the inclusion of an alternative path along the I-10 corridor to reach a possible station in downtown Houston. TCR is expected to work with city of Houston officials to evaluate the exact logistics of the potential route in the near future.
The previous route up for consideration included the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, or BNSF, line planned to travel through Tomball, Magnolia and other parts of Montgomery County. TCR's final corridor recommendation comes after an estimated 800 Montgomery County officials and residents gathered Feb. 2 in Montgomery to speak out against the proposed construction of the high-speed rail in Texas and specifically the BNSF route.
TCR is expected to move forward with investigating alternative paths along the utility corridor to accommodate potential conflicts with homes and businesses and submit additional information to the FRA for further analysis during the environmental review process. Currently in the early stages of the EIS, the review process will take 18–24 months to complete, TCR officials said.
A project unique to the U.S., the high-speed rail would travel from Houston to Dallas in 90 minutes, according to TCR. The rail will use bullet train technology that has been in use in Japan for 50 years.
