"You could live and work in Dallas, go to a meeting in Austin, have dinner in San Antonio, and be home in time to put your kids to bed. All of that without having to sit in heavy traffic or go through airport security," State Rep. John Bucy III said.https://t.co/hkKBCq6jp8

— KXAN News (@KXAN_News) November 22, 2024

Texas lawmakers envision high-speed rail along I-35 corridor in latest bill filings

by: Kelsey Thompson

AUSTIN (KXAN) High-speed rail could be coming full steam ahead to the Interstate 35 corridor amid new bill filings from Texas lawmakers pushing the initiative.

State Rep. John Bucy III (D-Austin) filed House Bill 483 on Nov. 12, which calls for allocations of state funding to support the development of high-speed rail linking Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.

In a statement to KXAN, Bucy said state leadership needs to explore more robust mobility opportunities, particularly as the state works to improve its infrastructure to accommodate surging growth. With I-35 a key economic hub connecting metros across the state, he prioritized this area as part of his legislative filing.

Texans and those visiting our great state deserve robust options for travel and commuting. The IH-35 corridor is a major hub for work and recreation, and it only makes sense that high speed rail is an option for this corridor.

You could live and work in Dallas, go to a meeting in Austin, have dinner in San Antonio, and be home in time to put your kids to bed. All of that without having to sit in heavy traffic or go through airport security.

It's time for Texas to lead once more on infrastructure, including on transit. Making Texas as good as its promise must include extensive and modern transit systems.

State Rep. John Bucy III (D-Austin)normal
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) filed Nov. 21 an accompanying bill in the Texas Senate, Senate Bill 424. Both chambers' bills outline a proposed development agreement between the Texas Department of Transportation and a private partner to construct, maintain and operate the rail line. Each version of the bill defines "high-speed rail" as reaching minimum speeds of 110 miles per hour.

Bucy and Eckhardt aren't the only elected officials in favor of the proposal. Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai held a joint press conference in late September to discuss the Texas Passenger Rail Advisory Committee.

That committee is focused on petitioning for expanded rail funding in the upcoming legislative session, which kicks off in January.

If passed and signed into law, the I-35 rail corridor wouldn't be the first iteration of high-speed rail in development within the Lone Star State. Amtrak and Texas Central Partners are advancing the Dallas to Houston High Speed Rail Project, a 240-mile passenger route designed to transport riders between the two cities in less than 90 minutes.

However, there are already some lawmakers challenging the funding endeavor. Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) filed HB 1402 Nov. 19, which aims to prohibit spending public money "to pay for the alteration of a roadway related to high-speed rail construction."

His bill, if passed, wouldn't allow the Texas Legislature to appropriate money for the "cost of planning, facility construction or maintenance, or security for, promotion of, or operation of, high-speed rail operated by a private entity."

Each of the bill filings proposed an effective date of Sept. 1, 2025, should either iteration be passed by the legislature and signed into law.

Harrison Bergeron said:

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Will never happen.

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These things seem to die on the vine. Although if it does get built and it stops in Waco, I might take it for a game or two

You have to beat the Southwest Airlines lobby. They were the ones who killed this before. They don't want this affecting their business.

Why don't they just invest in it and win either way?

The thing is, face to face meetings are down and will continue to decline.

Porteroso said:

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Assassin said:

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Harrison Bergeron said:

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Will never happen.

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These things seem to die on the vine. Although if it does get built and it stops in Waco, I might take it for a game or two

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If it stopped in Waco, every Waconian would use it at least once a year.

I would fully support this. It needs to link to Houston too though, and West Texas imo.

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I would support it too. Not sure where you might link to in West Texas. El Paso isnt exactly the most scenic place. Lubbock maybe? Not sure there would be enough riders to justify Lubbock

Amtrak is already working on a Dallas-Houston project

Heheh, this thing has ZERO chances of happening, With all the prima donna blue hair boomer NIMBYs in this state? The line from Houston to Dallas died too.

Assassin said:

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Porteroso said:

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Assassin said:

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Harrison Bergeron said:

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Will never happen.

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These things seem to die on the vine. Although if it does get built and it stops in Waco, I might take it for a game or two

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If it stopped in Waco, every Waconian would use it at least once a year.

I would fully support this. It needs to link to Houston too though, and West Texas imo.

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I would support it too. Not sure where you might link to in West Texas. El Paso isnt exactly the most scenic place. Lubbock maybe? Not sure there would be enough riders to justify Lubbock

Amtrak is already working on a Dallas-Houston project

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Mainly you just need a stop between Vegas and Austin.

Would be nice to have Musk over something like this since he'd get it done in a quarter of the time and at a quarter of the cost compared to the state

On second thought, that's enough for idiot politicians to justify the absurd expense.

110 mph? No thanks. U can almost go that fast in much of 35.

RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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midgett said:

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On second thought, that's enough for idiot politicians to justify the absurd expense.

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We should look at what high speed rail has done in California. All I can say is "Don't California my Texas!"

As humans, we no longer seem to have the ability to learn from other's mistakes. Not sure why.

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Yeah but you could spend hundreds of billions on a project that will never get completed so there's that.

nein51 said:

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RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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midgett said:

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On second thought, that's enough for idiot politicians to justify the absurd expense.

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We should look at what high speed rail has done in California. All I can say is "Don't California my Texas!"

As humans, we no longer seem to have the ability to learn from other's mistakes. Not sure why.

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Yeah but you could spend hundreds of billions on a project that will never get completed so there's that.

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Imagine the kickbacks on that project!

Married A Horn said:

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nein51 said:

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RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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midgett said:

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On second thought, that's enough for idiot politicians to justify the absurd expense.

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We should look at what high speed rail has done in California. All I can say is "Don't California my Texas!"
As humans, we no longer seem to have the ability to learn from other's mistakes. Not sure why.

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Yeah but you could spend hundreds of billions on a project that will never get completed so there's that.

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Imagine the kickbacks on that project!

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Exactly.

Married A Horn said:

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nein51 said:

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RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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midgett said:

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On second thought, that's enough for idiot politicians to justify the absurd expense.

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We should look at what high speed rail has done in California. All I can say is "Don't California my Texas!"

As humans, we no longer seem to have the ability to learn from other's mistakes. Not sure why.

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Yeah but you could spend hundreds of billions on a project that will never get completed so there's that.

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Imagine the kickbacks on that project!

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midgett said:

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Porteroso said:

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Assassin said:

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Harrison Bergeron said:

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Will never happen.

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These things seem to die on the vine. Although if it does get built and it stops in Waco, I might take it for a game or two

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If it stopped in Waco, every Waconian would use it at least once a year.

I would fully support this. It needs to link to Houston too though, and West Texas imo.

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I don't think the residents of a small city using it once a year is going to justify 10s of billions spent.

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That is... not what I said.

hodedofome said:

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You have to beat the Southwest Airlines lobby. They were the ones who killed this before. They don't want this affecting their business.

Why don't they just invest in it and win either way?

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Because it's never cost effective. These kinds of projects are always very expensive and only survive with large government subsidies. And this make them more expensive…

California's Train "from nowhere to nowhere"

An even larger boondoggle because it's in California

historian said:

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California's Tran "from nowhere to nowhere"

An even larger boondoggle because it's in California

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What kind of Tran? And how big is that California boondoggle? Thought they were amputating most of them...

Original corrected

historian said:

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Original corrected

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Sorry, couldn't resist!

No problem

Maybe a stop in Waco?

hodedofome said:

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You have to beat the Southwest Airlines lobby. They were the ones who killed this before. They don't want this affecting their business.

Why don't they just invest in it and win either way?

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You got it. This is not about transit. This is intercity travel, air drones will compete for the same market. SW Airlines and other regional carriers will take the hit. This may be a true case of Govt competing against Private, as these rail projects are too capital intense to go forward without Govt support for both funding and eminent domain. They keep comparing to Europe, but Europe is a much different animal than the US.

Waco1947 said:

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Maybe a stop in Waco?

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He will never be built because liberals can't build anything anymore


[Voters first approved a high-speed rail proposal in 2008 that would connect Los Angeles to San Francisco by 2020. That end date has changed considerably over time.
There is no set timeline for when anyone will be able to ride the entire 494-stretch from Anaheim to San Francisco.

Officials estimate it could cost about $35 billion to finish the first line from Bakersfield to Merced and roughly $100 billion more to complete the route from Los Angeles to San Francisco about $100 billion more than what was originally proposed years ago. And the source of most funds is unclear.

High-speed rail development relies on state and federal funding and California's cap-and-trade incentive, which is set to expire in 2030. The authority hopes to secure private investments in the future...]

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-21/high-speed-rail

He will never be built because liberals can't build anything anymore. Not a valid opinion

Waco1947 said:

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He will never be built because liberals can't build anything anymore. Not a valid opinion

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Your side failed to build highspeed rail in California (a one party controlled Leftist State)

You have total control of California

And yet the project is $100 billion over budget and no end point in sight.

It might never be finished at all

Redbrickbear said:

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Waco1947 said:

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He will never be built because liberals can't build anything anymore. Not a valid opinion

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Your side failed to build highspeed rail in California (a one party controlled Leftist State)

You have totally control of California

And yet the project is $100 billion over budget and no end point in sight.

It might never be finished at all

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If it gets finished that will finish their kickbacks and insider trading.

Redbrickbear said:

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Waco1947 said:

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He will never be built because liberals can't build anything anymore. Not a valid opinion

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Your side failed to build highspeed rail in California (a one party controlled Leftist State)

You have total control of California

And yet the project is $100 billion over budget and no end point in sight.

It might never be finished at all

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Anecdotal at best