The Federal Railroad Administration and the Texas Department of Transportation have begun work on an environmental impact statement for the Texas Central Railway, a proposed 240-mile high-speed rail system between Houston and Dallas.

Robert Eckels, president of Texas Central Railway, said the FRA and TxDOT issued a notice of intent June 25 to begin the environmental study. Eckels said the environmental study will consider possible routes for the railway and the effects on the surrounding community as well as possible stops along the way and alternative route options.

Depending on how long the environmental process takes, Eckels said the project could break ground by the end of 2016 or early in 2017. The railway would be grade-separated, meaning it would not intersect with rail tracks or roadways.

In September, the TxDOT high-speed rail committee met in Dallas and submitted a map of proposed routes.

Three routes are being considered for the train, Eckels said, including rights of way along I-45.

The committee will meet again in the upcoming months to get more input from the community.

"All [routes] have their strengths," Eckels said. "The main thing we're looking for is the cost of construction and to minimize the impact on the communities."

Eckels said one of the biggest obstacles in constructing the rail will be its uniqueness because there are no similar rail projects in the United States.

As the environmental process continues, Eckels said examining the safety standards of the project will be concurrently examined. Using state-of-the-art technology, high-speed trains have run in Japan for 50 years without any fatalities because of train errors.

"You don't have wrecks on these trains like you do on other trains," he said. "It's a quiet train. It's a safe train. It's extremely fast."

Eckels said the project will not be constructed with federal or state funding. Instead a number of private investors would fund the multibillion-dollar project through debt and equity and be repaid through ticket sales. Tickets would likely cost less than commercial airfare, he said.

Eckels said a car trip from Houston to Dallas along I-45 today is roughly four hours and could increase to six hours by 2035. Not only could a high-speed rail be an alternative to additional taxpayer-funded construction along I-45, but Eckels said he believes it will aid in economic growth in Texas.

Tarrant County Precinct 3 Commissioner Gary Fickes said he has been working to bring high-speed rail to Texas for eight years.

"I think it's a great thing andeventually it will come to Tarrant County," Fickes said. "Let's not think of it as connecting two cities, but as a state system that would cover the major metropolitan areas. We are talking about having access to 70-80 percent of the people that live in Texas if this is accomplished."