HOUSTON - Plans for high-speed railroads linking major Texas cities are picking up steam once again, 15 years after the idea ground to a halt for lack of funding, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The federal stimulus package includes $8 billion to develop American counterparts to the bullet trains that crisscross Europe and Japan at speeds exceeding 200 mph. President Barack Obama has also pledged $5 billion for trains over the next five years of federal budgets.
That prospect has given Houston-area rail advocates a confidence boost, if little else.
Current plans for a Texas system envision a T-bone track shape connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and other towns. But much remains vague: where exactly the route would go, who would build it, the price and funding sources.
We clearly dont have a project that is ready, said Alan Clark, transportation programs manager for the Houston-Galveston Area Council. Theres no alignment, no one has done any environmental work. Its all a concept right now.
The federal government has not yet issued guidelines for how to apply for the money, and its unclear if the Texas Department of Transportation or another agency or group would lead the project. Plans are further along in other states, including California and Florida.
Nevertheless, Texas has natural advantages conducive to high-speed rail, advocates say. The terrain is relatively flat and land is cheaper than in California and Florida.
We have the ability to produce a system that is reasonably priced, said David Dean, a former Texas secretary of state. Dean is working as a consultant for the main advocacy group, the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp.
Dean estimates the T-bone would cost $10 billion to 20 billion and could be completed by 2020. It would ease highway congestion and pollution, attract more Fortune 500 companies to the state, and help in an Olympics bid, he said. The Houston route could even help during hurricane evacuations, he added.
Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels is chairing the High Speed Rail and Transportation Corp.
With a high-speed train, you could live in Dallas and work in Houston, Eckels said. He described a system that would be mostly privately funded. Cities and counties along the rail corridors would join together and form a governmental corporation, then seek investors. Eckels said the system could cost $20 billion to $40 billion.
In 1994, state plans to bring high-speed rail to Texas collapsed after a French company could not get sufficient funding for a system that would have linked Dallas, Houston and San Antonio in a triangular track pattern.
The T-bone shape, requiring 440 miles of track, would be 40 percent smaller than the triangle plan. Technology has also advanced, making construction and operation easier and less expensive, Dean said.
Eckels said airlines operating in the state, which vigorously lobbied against the 1994 plan, are now open to the idea, provided the routes connect to major airports.
Julie King, a spokeswoman for Continental Airlines, confirmed the Houston-based carrier has been interested in the development of a Texas high-speed rail plan that includes connections to major airports, but said the company has not taken a position on the T-bone project.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, also havent taken positions on specific rail projects.
A number of bills before the Texas Legislature would position the state to tap into the federal funds. One would create the local government corporation that Eckels envisions.
Another would offer tax breaks for private rail builders.
A third would create a rail division at TxDOT, which previously has not focused much on passenger rail travel.
But billions in federal funding could change that situation, and also jump-start other projects such as shorter commuter lines that run at speeds of 125 mph or less.
(This item appeared April 24, 2009, in the Houston Chronicle.)
