A plan for a high-speed rail line that would allow Texans to travel from Houston to Dallas in a quick 90 minutes is moving forward, but not without a lot of setbacks and continued opposition from some communities along the proposed route. Topics of concern include the possibility that train tracks will bisect private property, the high cost of building the bullet train and its financing.
After three years of development, the private firm behind the project, Texas Central, announced two major partners that will be laying the track.
Though the bullet train is a private initiative, Texas Central wants to use the power of eminent domain to acquire some of the land it needs. Legal challenges, particularly in Grimes County, northwest of Houston, are likely to center on whether the company has the power to take private land.
Brandon Formby, an urban affairs reporter with the Texas Tribune, says the state has taken a “hands-off” approach to the high-speed rail plan, passing a law during the recent regular legislative session that forbids the state from putting money into the Texas Central project.
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
