TX: Don’t hamper Texas high-speed rail any further

Texas lawmakers in Washington should stop a House proposal that could unwisely limit high-speed rail’s future possibilities in our state.

A House appropriations bill contains a provision that would prohibit federal dollars from being used on a high-speed rail project that is “the same or substantially similar” to the Texas Central Railway project intended to connect Dallas and Houston.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments’ 45-member Regional Transportation Council voted last month to send a letter to representatives urging them to oppose the provision. They should listen to our local leaders.

No one expects the government to foot the whole bill if the project ever comes to fruition, but it’s important to leave the possibility of a private-public partnership on the table. A roughly 90-minute connection between two of the nation’s busiest population hubs could carry big economic benefits.

The language in the House proposal might have consequences beyond the Dallas to Houston line. Michael Morris, transportation director for council of governments, explained that it could hurt the proposed Dallas to Fort Worth line as well.

The path forward remains murky at best for both rail lines.

For the east to west line, the council of governments hopes to get federal environmental approval, which will allow it to market the project to rail providers worldwide, Morris explained. The council is also in the early stages of a program that would allow for a combination of public funds and private sector investment.

We continue to maintain that the Dallas to Fort Worth line shouldn’t move forward unless the train to Houston does. And that line doesn’t seem to have a very well-defined future. Earlier this year, the Trump administration pulled a $63.9 million grant awarded to Amtrak for the project.

John Kleinheinz, leading investor for the project, said Texas Central fully supports the decision to remove Amtrak from the project. He said now the task is to determine the right mix of private and public dollars, and advocated for rerouting funds intended for California’s line and giving them to Texas.

We are not so optimistic about the prospects that the private sector will support the Dallas to Houston bullet train. And at any rate, it doesn’t seem there is much enthusiasm at the state or federal level to commit taxpayer dollars.

There’s good reason to be wary of infrastructure-intensive projects that frequently bust timelines and cascade over budget, but it isn’t impossible to do big infrastructure projects right. If it was, we wouldn’t have a world-class highway system.

The bullish opposition to all things public transportation that seems to be permeating every level of government is as short-sighted as it is frustrating. We need to be thinking harder about the future.

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