Texas is once more flirting with expanding passenger rail
The state’s booming population, congestion problems and billions of federal dollars on the table have officials eyeing ways to boost passenger rail. Full Story
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![A public scoping meeting on the Dallas to Houston High-Speed Rail hosted by TXDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration in Houston on Oct. 29, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Dallas-Houston bullet train developer vows project is on track, but state officials lack confidence
With lingering skepticism about Texas Central’s ability to build a high-speed rail line, landowners along the route want the company to be more forthcoming about the project’s status. Full Story
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![Railroad tracks near a proposed bullet train terminus on the outskirts of downtown Dallas, on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. The entities in charge of a bullet train connection between Houston and DFW have faded despite Texas courts approving eminent domain to accomplish the massive project.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Buttigieg thinks high-speed rail would be good for Texas, wants highway expansions to consider neighborhood impacts
The U.S. transportation secretary says high-growth areas will need to pave more highway lanes — but that state and local officials should minimize environmental and community impacts. Full Story
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![U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on March 2, 2022, in Washington, D.C.]()
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In Texas Supreme Court case, state argues that Dallas-Houston bullet train developer can’t use eminent domain
A rural Texas landowner is battling Texas Central in a lawsuit that hinges on whether the company can forcibly take parcels needed to connect the state’s two biggest urban areas. Full Story
![A public scoping meeting on the Dallas to Houston High-Speed Rail hosted by TXDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration in Houston on Oct. 29, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
High-speed train between Dallas and Houston gets federal approval
The railroad plans to connect Texas' two biggest cities within 90 minutes. Construction could begin in the first half of next year. Full Story
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![The Dallas station of a proposed Dallas-Houston bullet train will likely be on the southwest side of downtown, on a patch of empty land between an existing rail line and the interchange of two highways.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby/The Texas Tribune -
Texas high-speed rail plans dodge bullet after lawmakers strike provision aiming to delay the project
Legal battles over whether the developer can use eminent domain still loom over the project. Full Story
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![The Japanese Shinkansen is a high-speed train used by JR Central in Japan. A private company is planning to build a rail line between Dallas and Houston using the same trains.]()
Credit: Norihiro Kataoka -
Could Texas high-speed rail hit a speed bump this session?
Lawmakers are pushing more measures than ever before that could delay the Dallas-Houston bullet train project — and there’s even a special subcommittee tackling the topic. Full Story
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![The Japanese Shinkansen is a high-speed train used by JR Central in Japan. A private company is planning to build a rail line between Dallas and Houston using the same trains.]()
Credit: Norihiro Kataoka -
Texas high-speed rail developer doesn't want state money. But the Senate's state budget could still delay the project.
Although Texas Central isn't planning on using state funds for its Dallas-Houston line, it says language in the spending plan could impede the project until a court definitively affirms the company's ability to use eminent domain. Full Story
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![An access gate to power lines is closed near John Stoneham's ranch on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 in Grimes County. The roughly 1,000-acre ranch, which has been owned and operated by the Stoneham family for nearly 150 years, is in the proposed path of a high speed rail line. The rail would potentially follow the path of the power lines. If the rail is built, Stoneham could lose about 50 acres of land in the middle of his property, limiting his access to grazing pastures.]()
Credit: Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News -
Dallas-Houston bullet train critics want to boost Texas oversight of eminent domain use
As private developer Texas Central moves ahead with plans to build what could be the country's first high-speed rail line, a handful of state lawmakers hope to try next year to give the state more authority over the project. But they admit there may not be the legislative appetite. Full Story
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![Randa and Charlie Calhoun raise pigs and cattle on their land in Bedias, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2018. A proposed high speed rail would be built along existing power lines.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas values collide in fight over Houston-Dallas high speed rail
A proposed high-speed rail line between the state's two largest urban areas represents the collision of two things Texans hold dear: private property rights and an unrestrained free market Full Story
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![5-year-old Cainen Calhoun runs to catch up to his father Charlie on his family's land in Bedias, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2018. A proposed high-speed rail would be built along existing power lines.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Bullet train developers want to turn Houston's Northwest Mall into major transit hub
The developers of a proposed high-speed train between the Houston and Dallas regions say they have identified an aging mall northwest of downtown Houston as the ideal spot for a station. Full Story
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![A high-speed Texas train is planned to run near railroad tracks along Hempstead Road in northwest Houston.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby for The Texas Tribune -
Some Texans dodge bullet train, others are square in its path
Federal officials identified the likely route a planned Dallas-Houston bullet train will take through rural counties as it connects the state's two largest urban areas. Full Story
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![Central Texas Partners released this map showing the likely route of a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston.]()
Credit: Graphic by Emily Albracht for The Texas Tribune -
Opponents of proposed Dallas-Houston bullet train push lawmakers to kill it
As the legislative session reaches its final weeks, opponents of a private firm's plans to build a bullet train line between Dallas and Houston are urging lawmakers will pass one of several bills that would likely kill it. Full Story
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![The JR Central N700 Series, a Japanese Shinkansen bullet train.]()
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Bills aimed at controversial Dallas-Houston bullet train sail out of Senate committee
Five bills approved by the Senate Transportation Committee Wednesday would impact or hinder a private company's plans to build a bullet train from Dallas to Houston. Full Story
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![The Japanese Shinkansen is a high-speed trail used by JR Central in Japan. A private company is planning to build a rail line between Dallas and Houston using the same trains.]()
Credit: Norihiro Kataoka -
Texas bullet train firm calls provision added to budget a "job killer"
Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate's proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk. Full Story
![A high-speed Texas train is planned to run near railroad tracks along Hempstead Road in northwest Houston.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans happy with Trump's performance (video)
In his second month in office, President Donald Trump is getting mixed grades on his job performance from Texans, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
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With bullet train, state's rural roots and urban future on collision course
A private firm's proposed Houston-Dallas bullet train would connect two of America's biggest metropolitan areas. But the 240-mile line would require a lot of country land that many Texans don't want to give up. Full Story
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![John Stoneham walks in a field with his cows at his ranch on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 in Grimes County. The roughly 1,000-acre ranch is in the proposed path of a high speed rail line. If the rail is built, Stoneham could lose about 50 acres of land in the middle of his property, limiting his access to grazing pastures.]()
Credit: Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News -
How to pay for a $12 billion bullet train without asking Texas for money
Texas Central Partners says global interest in American infrastructure will fund and finance a high-speed rail line from Dallas to Houston. Experts and critics are more skeptical. Full Story
![The Dallas station of a proposed Dallas-Houston bullet train will likely be on the southwest side of downtown, on a patch of empty land between an existing rail line and the interchange of two highways.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby/The Texas Tribune -
"Come and take it": Eminent domain dispute at heart of bullet train battles
In both courthouses and at the Capitol, opponents of a private company’s plans to build a Dallas-Houston bullet train have zeroed on in the firm's claim that it has the authority to take land by condemnation if necessary. Full Story
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![Texans Against High Speed Rail Chairman Ben Leman, who is also Grimes County judge, stands for a portrait in the Grimes County Courthouse in Anderson on Feb. 21, 2017.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
High-speed train developer withdraws lawsuits against Texas landowners
Texas Central says it will return to negotiating with property owners whose land may be needed for a rail line from Dallas to Houston, rather than seeking a court order to survey the land. Full Story
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![Japan Central's N700 high speed train, the same train that a private firm wants to bring to Texas.]()
Credit: JR Central