Texas On "Fast Track" To High Speed Rail

[Urbannizer]

Federal board declines to oversee Houston-Dallas bullet train project

The Surface Transportation Board on Monday determined it has no oversight of the 240-mile line planned by Texas Central Partners that has drawn opposition from rural residents while enjoying support in the two metro areas because the project lies completely within Texas. Texas Central had argued its connectivity to Amtrak gave federal officials some oversight, but the board rejected that.

“Should Texas Central develop concrete plans that would make the Line part of the interstate rail network, such as an actual through ticketing arrangement with Amtrak or a shared station with an interstate passenger rail line, Texas Central could seek board authority at that time,” officials wrote in their decision.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Federal board declines to oversee Houston-Dallas bullet train project

Okay, so I'm curious about this. Is this good or bad?

Also, has there been any recent news on this project? Seems quiet.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Okay, so I'm curious about this. Is this good or bad?
Also, has there been any recent news on this project? Seems quiet.

There will not be much more news until the FEIS is complete.

AS for the STB, it's standard policy for every rail operator to ask them if they fall under it's regulatory powers. It's both good and bad; good in that they can't complicate operations with their rules and regulations, bad because it gives some credence for those who don't believe Texas Central is a railroad company and can't use eminent domain.
Good for their more independent operations, bad for them politically.

STB regulates interstate commerce transportation. FRA regulates railroads, and it's the FRA rules and regulations that will continue to be applied to Texas Central.

It should not be surprising to learn that the STB has no interest with a railroad that doesn't plan to cross a state border or run on shared railroad tracks with other trains that do.

[Urbannizer]

Trump team compiles infrastructure priority list

President Donald Trump’s team has compiled a list of about 50 infrastructure projects nationwide, totaling at least $137.5 billion...

Among the projects could be a new terminal for the Kansas City airport, upgrades to Interstate 95 in North Carolina and the construction of a high-speed railway from Dallas to Houston.

[BrownTown]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Trump team compiles infrastructure priority list

Also a lot of other projects this board is interested in are on there like Gateway and Phases 2 AND 3 of the Second Avenue Subway.

[M II A II R II K]

Rail company buys land options for high-speed line

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/loca...l-10914592.php

.....

- The company planning high-speed rail service between Houston and Dallas announced Tuesday it has reached preliminary agreements to buy property from nearly one-third of the landowners along the planned route, including half of those in two counties where vocal opposition has been strongest.

.....

[austlar1]

It is a mighty slow train moving down that so-called "fast track". What are the odds that this thing will ever happen?

[electricron]

Originally Posted by austlar1

It is a mighty slow train moving down that so-called "fast track". What are the odds that this thing will ever happen?

I'd say better than 50%.
Money always talks, and this company has lots of money behind it and wishing it will do well.

[Car(e)-Free LA]

With 1/3 of properties acquired, this project is definitely serious and coming along much better than I was aware of. As a Californian, the pace at which this is advancing compared to California High Speed Rail is staggering. Good job Texas Central!

[Owlhorn]

Originally Posted by austlar1

It is a mighty slow train moving down that so-called "fast track". What are the odds that this thing will ever happen?

considering they are privately buying this land and already have developers for the two stations, this is moving quickly. This type of project could take a decade and in less than two years they've gone from zero to having about 50% of what they need to get construction going.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by Owlhorn

considering they are privately buying this land and already have developers for the two stations, this is moving quickly. This type of project could take a decade and in less than two years they've gone from zero to having about 50% of what they need to get construction going.

I'm optimistic, but not that optimistic. It only takes one nimby rancher to throw a monkey wrench into the works and create delays.

Depending upon the final route selected, TXDOT and UP/BNSF could control 1/3 of the needed ROW. So basically they only need to lock up another 1/3.

They haven't been buying the land, so not much money has changed hands yet, but they are locking up what the price of the land will be on paper with the various landowners.

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by Car(e)-Free LA

With 1/3 of properties acquired, this project is definitely serious and coming along much better than I was aware of. As a Californian, the pace at which this is advancing compared to California High Speed Rail is staggering. Good job Texas Central!

Huh? CAHSR is under construction right now and has over 10 billion in the bank ready to go. Plus annual cap and trade revenues.

This Texas project - while super exciting - is vapor ware until somebody puts some real money behind it

[Car(e)-Free LA]

Originally Posted by Eightball

Huh? CAHSR is under construction right now and has over 10 billion in the bank ready to go. Plus annual cap and trade revenues.

This Texas project - while super exciting - is vapor ware until somebody puts some real money behind it

That is true, and it is wonderful, but CAHSR only has a fraction of the properties needed phase one (Kern County-Merced) of phase one (SJ-Bakersfield) of phase one (SF-LA), with the projected opening date of SF-LA in the 2030s at the earliest. It also took CAHSR 6 years from when it was proposed to actually breaking ground. Texas Central is moving at a much faster pace than CAHSR and will likely be done a decade sooner (if it is serious, and since it has 1/3 of properties I think it is), though of course it doesn't have to traverse two major mountain ranges.

[phoenixboi08]

Originally Posted by Car(e)-Free LA

That is true, and it is wonderful, but CAHSR only has a fraction of the properties needed phase one (Kern County-Merced) of phase one (SJ-Bakersfield) of phase one (SF-LA), with the projected opening date of SF-LA in the 2030s at the earliest. It also took CAHSR 6 years from when it was proposed to actually breaking ground. Texas Central is moving at a much faster pace than CAHSR and will likely be done a decade sooner (if it is serious, and since it has 1/3 of properties I think it is), though of course it doesn't have to traverse two major mountain ranges.

To be clear, they only have the options to exercise the purchase of the properties they need (e.g. they've reached agreements with land owners)...? I'm not sure they likely haven bought the parcels, yet, and I'm curious to know how long they have to exercise those options (the article above is behind a paywall, so I don't know if it's mentioned, there).

In any case, as I've said time-and-again, they will run into the same lawsuits in between Dallas and Houston that CAHSRA has in the Central Valley. Though, I wonder how strong the farming community is, in that part of Texas compared to their counterparts in the CV ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also think its an apples-oranges comparison given some big differences in the alignments of the two projects (one avoiding many populated/urban areas, the other trying to serve as many as possible). One wouldn't expect them to progress at the same speed.

The real advantage TXCentral has is having vendor locked-down for their technology-systems, rolling stock, signaling, etc - and a vendor who's an investor in the project, very keen/eager to gain market share, and thus probably 'under-bidding' compared to what it might do for other projects.

All the administrative stuff (ROW acquisition) is rather hard to compare, in my opinion...we haven't even had a clear update since the CAHSRA became more aggressive, since 2015, in getting all the properties they needed, but they must have, because the lawsuits have died down, considerably and they were able to catch up with their anticipated schedule for awarding/completing Construction Packages 1-4 (e.g. construction/design work & testing has begun).

[Urbannizer]

Texas HSR mentioned ahead of weekend of Japanese-American negotiations

On Friday, President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to the White House, and Texas' high-speed rail plans came up almost immediately during their first joint press conference. Among comments regarding economic partnership and joint defense were comments on the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail system proposed between Houston and Dallas, which Trump has said is on his infrastructure priority list.

"With President Trump taking on the leadership, I'm sure there will be major-scale infrastructure investments made, including the fast-speed train," Abe told the room of reporters. "Those of you who have rode on the Japanese Shinkansen, I'm sure you would appreciate the speed, the comfort and safety."

Abe sees the project as a collaboration between the countries as well as a domestic economic driver. "Japan, with our high level of technical capability, will be able to contribute to President Trump's growth strategy. There will be even more new jobs being born in the United States." Trump was quiet about specifics, offering only a few brief remarks and then taking a few questions before heading to Florida, where the president said the two "will have a long and very successful talk, negotiations and a very, very productive weekend" at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by Car(e)-Free LA

With 1/3 of properties acquired, this project is definitely serious and coming along much better than I was aware of. As a Californian, the pace at which this is advancing compared to California High Speed Rail is staggering. Good job Texas Central!

Yeah, Texas, a state that doesn't give two shits about the environment an is mainly flat where this is being built, I can see why this is advancing quick.

Furthermore, color me surprised if it actually gets built to the standards of HSR you see in Japan.

Good job Texas for securing a high-speed rail route but don't compare it to California because that is an apples to oranges comparison.

[Urbannizer]

State lawmakers take aim at bullet train

Key lawmakers filed a pile of legislation Feb. 21 designed to stop the Texas bullet train in its tracks.

Five Republican senators joined four Republican state representatives to file a total of 18 bills addressing concerns with developer Texas Central Partners' proposed bullet train between Dallas and Houston. The concerns ranged from the general regulation of high-speed rail to landowners threatened by the potential misuse of eminent domain to ensuring the state isn't later forced to bail out the private project with taxpayer dollars.

Texas Central, a subsidiary of a Japanese company, plans to construct the 240-mile Dallas-Houston line funded by private investors. The company has repeatedly said that it won’t seek public funding.

"This group of foreign investors is threatening to seize family farms, physically divide the state of Texas, and have a gravely detrimental impact on the citizens I represent," state Rep. Leighton Schubert, R-Caldwell, said in a statement. "At a minimum, the people of Texas deserve reasonable reassurances that their private property rights will be respected and that they will not be left holding the bag if this ill-conceived project fails."

[electricron]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

State lawmakers take aim at bullet train

Filing 18 bills now doesn't mean any of them will become law later.
TXDOT prefers that this project be handled privately, and most of Texas is for them building the HSR train. But most Texans expect everyone to be treated fairly as well. Additionally, I expect some pro HSR bills will also be introduced soon, if not already.

This Texas A&M study presents the existing lawsuits well.
https://assets.recenter.tamu.edu/Doc...icles/2159.pdf
But things can change if the laws are changed during this legislature session, making this article mute.

But, there's another way for Texas Central to get out of this mess, whether it is an official railroad or not per state law?
My solution, win the bid to operate the Texas State Railroad between Palestine and Rusk. Throw a little bit of money around the tourist, museum railroad and gain the nondebatable power of eminent domain.
The losses operating the TSR could easily be smaller than the money saved buying a 240 mile rail corridor.

Nothing could be finer than running the oldest and newest passenger rolling stock in Texas! Ha!Ha!

FYI, Texas State Railroad length is 25 miles, and the typical schedule takes 90 minutes to transverse, averaging around 16 mph.
The N700A train running at full speed of 205 mph can transverse that distance in 7.5 minutes. That's 12 times faster.

[M II A II R II K]

How to pay for Texas' $12 billion bullet train without asking the state for money

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/e...ng-texas-money

.....

- How does a private company go about lining up the billions of dollars it needs to pay for a 240-mile bullet train line? And is it possible for it to actually turn a profit? First, it’s important to distinguish between financing and funding a major infrastructure project, said Michael Bennon, managing director of Stanford University’s Global Projects Center. Financing is how Texas Central will get enough money to build the high-speed rail line in the first place. Funding is the revenue that will keep the train running.

- Texas Central executives are confident they’ll be able to find the money, in large part because investors are hungry for “real assets” — tangible projects, basically — that could provide bigger returns than what’s available in today’s market. --- Low interest rates and other factors have meant that there aren’t a lot of places to park portions of those pools that will reliably pay out to investors over long periods of time. That’s part of why pension funds, which are supposed to be how workers get paid their retirement, are seeking out safer investments. Upfront money from investors will pay for roughly a third of the project.

- Another potential source of cheap financing is the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, a national development bank, which has an economic interest in shepherding Japanese technology into foreign markets. Central Japan Railway, the company that developed the technology for the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train, is partnering with Texas Central. --- Tetsuro Amano, the Houston-based general consul of Japan for Texas and Oklahoma, said the technology partnership with Japan Central Railway is definitely “good business,” but it’s too soon to speculate on the Japanese bank’s level of involvement.

.....

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

State lawmakers take aim at bullet train

I support their effort to stop this train.
Train to nowhere!
I'd have a different attitude if the Cal train grant wasn't cancelled, while this project makes it on the nation's top 50 infrastructure list. Cal train is already being used by commuters! For freight it would increase the flow of goods.