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The White House said in a briefing Wednesday that the DOT and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism “welcomed Amtrak’s leadership of the Central Texas High-Speed Rail Project.”
The proposed railway would connect Dallas and Houston using the Shinkansen technology of the Central Japan Railway Company. The White House statement was made public during the official visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, showing support for the project from the highest levels of the governments of both nations.
“I think there’s tremendous potential in this vision,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said of the Texas Central project in an April 7 interview broadcast on NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. He called the Dallas-Houston corridor “an excellent candidate for high-speed rail,” citing the region’s population distribution. “You have two major population centers that are a long distance or a very short flight away from each other.”
Planning for the 240-mile bullet train route goes back at least 10 years, when the Federal Railroad Administration began the environmental review process, which was completed in 2020. Amtrak and Texas Central Partners told the August that they were looking for a possible partnership to move. the project forward.
“Amtrak’s involvement gives the project some gravitas,” Andy Kunz, president and CEO of the American High-Speed Rail Association, told Smart Cities Dive. But he also noted that Amtrak has little history in developing new rail lines. “Whether or not they can deliver a $20 billion project is a question,” he said.
The project received a federal planning grant in December, and the recent White House statement said, “Successful completion of development efforts and other requirements would position the project for potential future funding and funding opportunities.”
The project has some Republican support in Congress. At a November hearing of a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee subcommittee, Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas said, “I like the idea of this rail line between Houston and Dallas.”
But the Houston Chronicle reported Friday that Texas Central owes $623,000 in delinquent property taxes and faces a lawsuit filed in the Texas Supreme Court by nine county attorneys. Some property owners along the route have opposed property acquisitions by the railroad, especially with construction halted.
