Amtrak is bringing High Speed Rail to Texas?! | Texas Central Railway

[@russellvk]

As a Houstonian, I would very much like to see this. I think a Hou-DFW corridor could do well enough to open up conversations about connecting the entire Texas Triangle with high speed rail.

[@starrwulfe]

As an Atlantan, I would love to see ANY high speed rail outside of the NE Corridor take off so we can have a bigger chance of seeing something happening around these parts. Also as a former Tokyoite, I welcome the chance to board an N700 series train in the Lone Star State.

[@Mr.Septon]

I actually think Texas building high speed rail first is probably best for political discussion. If it's done in California, or the North East, it runs the risk of being a partisan issue, seen as Democrat proposals rather than just transit proposals. So if really successful in Texas, which is also fair because Texas is physically big, but also well populated and spread out in different areas. Also, blue states often have more red tape that drag out such projects.

[@RMTransit]

Oh for sure it could, all the more reason to push for more density and public transit to help improve the numbers!

[@flamingoLake]

As a dallasian, I agree

[@highway2heaven91]

@@lllluka Don’t forget Tulsa….

[@japanesetrainandtravel6168]

It took me a few minutes to process that AMTRAK is now spearheading the Texas HSR project - not the solely a private rail company. Really exciting once it’s up and running - especially using Japanese tech. I am glad to see that the station in Dallas will be connect to rail transit for that final mile.

[@vidarv.9010]

or the bicycle..ohh wait, no regular bikes allowed on Shinkansen!

[@KRYMauL]

I mean it was in their master plan as a state support route.

[@CaptCovfefe515]

Brightline’s giving Amtrak a run for their money lol

[@danielch6662]

Building out the shinkansen literally bankrupted JR. The government then nationalised JR, transferred all the debts to the government's ledger, and a few years later, privatised the railways again. THAT is why the Shinkansen is profitable today. Or at least, breaking even. China's government dumped a gigantic mountain of money to get their amazing HSR today. But it will take a couple of decades for the ridership to increase, and the debts have to be transferred out to get rid of the interest payments and debt servicing. Only around 2040-50 will China's HSR get to the Shinkansen profitable/break even economic situation. There is no shortcut. Any Texas/US HSR will follow the same pattern. FIFTY years of bleeding red ink before traffic/usage increase to the point that it becomes economically self sustainable. Can the US political system maintain the will to last the distance? This is a marathon. Not a sprint. Would a populist politician decided to kill it 10 years in the future?

[@rabbit251]

@@brucebanana4486 My previous job was at Hitachi to train engineers to work on this system. This system is mostly being built by them, but the Texas courts ruled that it wasn't "public" and therefore couldn't use eminent domain provisions. With Amtrak joining it takes away that argument.

[@TotoDG]

I remember the episode of King Of The Hill where they go to Japan, and Hank is impressed by the speed of the Shinkansen; with that, I love the thought that if they do, in fact, build a high speed railway in Texas, Hank can get to experience it again, only now on his home turf.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Wasn't their going to be a reboot of king of the hill or was it cancel or something

[@joermnyc]

@@USSAnimeNCC-they are working on one, but the voice actor for Dale passed away unexpectedly about a week ago.

[@hartstukken]

rip his voice actor tho

[@TotoDG]

@@hartstukken. -It was Dale's voice actor that passed away recently, not Hank's. Nevertheless,- may he rest easily knowing he cheered up so many with his iconic lines. EDIT: I misinterpreted the comment I responded to, and thought they were replying to my own comment, rather than the one above theirs. My apologies.

[@tartrazine5]

Hank showing his New York City origins, I tell you what.

[@CABOOSEBOB]

I swear if Texas gets it before the northeast and Midwest…

[@vokasimid5330]

😂😎🤣

[@ayindestevens6152]

At this rate I’ll take WHOMEVER comes first!

[@ajjump5396]

Really yee’s your haw

[@PhilliesNostalgia]

To be fair, the highway from Dallas to Houston is incredibly congested and is only expected to get worse. So a relief valve is needed. But yes, Amtrak should try (money will always be the issue as the NEC needs around $135B in order for everything to be fixed or whatever else they want to do) to get the NEC true high-speed rail, with it traveling over 165 mph for at least 45% of the route, and 180 mph for at least 25%, but hey, HSR is HSR

[@consisepepper73]

Give it to East Coast, screw the Midwest. I wanna try it first😅

[@Lumilan]

Texas makes a ton of sense, especially the Texas Triangle, where the distances are too far to drive, but too short to fly. A rail with a stop in San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Ft Worth, Dallas, College Station, Houston, and back to San Antonio seems to make the most sense out of anywhere in the country.

[@thunderb00m]

And this is precisely it wont be done. Airline companies will lobby against it and greedy politicians will kill it.

[@zorossense]

Wakey wakey it's time for school

[@BennoWitter]

It's so reasonable, it will probably never happen in the US. However, if they can pull this off, it will be a game changer and HSR projects will pop-up all over the country.

[@Mr.Septon]

I think pulling it off in a red state like Texas where they like to have less red tape and legislation to work around (usually) in comparison to Blue states, that hopefully it stands a better chance of getting built and showing other states what can be.

[@moosesandmeese969]

Hopefully they can overcome the conservative carpetbaggers who obstruct anything that's actually good.

[@keeganbrown9967]

The 1st is always the hardest to build

[@Mr.Septon]

@@keeganbrown9967 yes, very much so agree with you. It triggers a multitude of effects that like rolling down a hill, you will just rapidly build moment in the process. I so badly want a nationalized high-speed east to west Canadian line. We just need one capable line that follows our inter-provincial highway. Don't make it private and financially have to compete with airlines. Just have it be a matter a allowing people a rail option for the major cities across the continent, and we wouldn't need to use carbon sources of energy.

[@lc9245]

They don't have to build an East-West line either. They just need to connect cities along multiple corridors together so people travelling long distance can land in one place and take the train to wherever they need. I just want them to start building local rail networks first even.

[@thejustinh1994]

As a Houstonian who travels to Dallas at least twice a month and has a lot of family in DFW, this would be a game changer. Everyone who I ask in either city is in support of the project. But given the 10+ year delay so far people haven’t been feeling optimistic. And with the over representation of rural counties in the State Legislature, the Leg and Governor are less supportive than in prior years. Amtrak will need to pump the vast majority of the funds to make this happen!

[@AdamM]

I think people outside of DFW or Houston don’t understand just how much travel there is between the two cities. While I don’t travel quite as much as you, I’m in Dallas and have family in Houston and we are back and forth in one or or another at least a few times a year and I travel for work to Houston at least a few times a year. Absolutely hate the drive and refuse to fly for that distance.

[@seththebeth]

I heard it through the grapevine that one of the big reasons this project was stalled was because land rights usage/eminent domain type of stuff. While I feel for people with land that gets “taken” or partially taken with this project, and even for the small towns along the roads from Houston to Dallas bc a lot of them thrive off of the rest stations and business that brings in, there comes a point where the greater good of society comes into play. The HSR will not only be an important milestone in development that has been long overdue, but it will help with climate issues by cutting down in cars (something TX looooves even though its environmental impact is horrendous).

[@besomewheredosomething]

@@AdamM Actually, they might know precisely how much travel is in between Dallas and Houston. Think how much money is pumped into the economies up and down the I-45 corridor by travelers? Buc-cee's, The Peach Store, fast food joints, etc. Putting a high speed rail in that only stops near Huntsville would reduce that commerce. I personally want high speed rail, but the people on the other side are not all idiots and are not coming to the table with empty arguments.

[@neiljohnson6815]

Individual rights are NOT trumped by the "greater good". The "greater good" is straight out of a Marxist play book.

[@insanehippiehippieinsane3828]

This is a pipe dream that will never happen in Texas. Most land in Texas is Privately Owned and most will not want to sell their land. Any politician who would support taking the land through imminent domain will be committing career deletion.

[@denali637]

One note on the Houston location: As a resident of Midtown, I don't personally love that the location is at the far northern tip of Uptown. However, I have to acknowledge that of all locations in Houston to locate an HSR station, that one makes the most sense. First, it's much closer to the population center of the Houston metro area than Downtown is, since the western suburbs are far denser than their eastern counterparts. Also, while I personally find Uptown to be a loathesome example of car-centric skyline urbanism, as a business and (especially) hospitality hub it is comparable with Downtown, and it is far denser residentially. Also, while it doesn't connect to the light rail lines, it is at the current terminus of the Uptown Silver Line BRT, which will be extended to Downtown via flyover guideway by the time HSR gets here. I believe the plan is to run 6min headways (same as the Red line and planned University Corridor BRT once that extension is complete. Downtown would still be a solid location because of easier access to the Medical Center (and a Downtown/Uptown tradeoff), but it wouldn't give good access to the Memorial City or Energy Corridor areas; I could see this spurring at least a nice shuttle service to and from both (business travel-dense) locations. I would love to see an extension to Downtown, but I think they made the right call here.

[@RMTransit]

I mean, ultimately downtown is basically always better, but this may or may not be an ok compromise

[@katrinabryce]

I know nothing about Houston, but when you talk about the Downtown location "having easy access to the medical centre", that makes it sound to me a bit like Paddington Station in London, where the only real trip generator nearby is St Mary's Hospital. Paddington Station has intercity services from Wales and the West of England and the Heathrow Express bringing long-distance passengers into London, plus 3/4 Underground lines and the Elizabeth line Line for local traffic. The long distance passengers aren't going to be going to St Mary's Hospital, they are going to be changing onto the local rail services to get to their actual destination. People visiting or working at St Mary's Hospital will live nearby and arrive by Underground, or by bus.

[@SouthCountyDreaming]

@RMTransit Houston’s Uptown is in some respects more important than Downtown. Plus, as a city with no zoning and fast construction, as well as an existing pattern of multi-node employment, the station location makes more sense. The city already hosts 3 downtowns essentially (MedCenter, Uptown and Downtown all have their own skylines and Energy Corridor and Westchase/Memorial City also do as well.) You could easily imagine that area with the station growing with a spate of new skyscrapers to add another new live work play district.

[@denali637]

​@@RMTransitI agree. I'm just not sure Houston's lowercase-d downtown is really its uppercase-D Downtown.

[@j.s.7335]

I lived in Houston only a matter of weeks, so I can't say how important Uptown is relative to Downtown, but I can say that its importance shouldn't be glossed over.

[@dfwrailvideos]

Y’all have no idea how excited us Dallasites and Houstonians are. Thank you Amtrak! What’s nice about the Dallas station is that you really don’t need to get a car for the last mile journeys. Just hop on the Red or Blue lines and change at any of the four Downtown Transit Mall stations, or at EBJ to transfer to TRE trains to Fort Worth. Houston’s station ought to be moved right downtown in all of those parking lots Houston has.

[@DavionWest]

I’m so excited!!! Can’t wait to take a train from the suburbs of Dallas then to Houston!!

[@dfwrailvideos]

@@DavionWest you can have breakfast in Dallas, spend the day in Houston and then head home to Dallas for dinner! It’s awesome!

[@johnstuartsmith]

Airplanes get you from one airport located miles from the city center to another airport miles away from your final destination. Trains get get you from the heart of one city into the heart of another without TSA lines, long boarding processes or extensive taxiing and takeoff delays. You just get on, go, get there, and get off....

[@EileenTheCr0w]

I pray this project is never completed as it will almost certainly make things worse in Dallas.

[@livelylocalmarkets3188]

Y’all don’t get too excited. Amtrak is “exploring partnership” and has only committed to handling the ticketing as well as helping them apply to a couple grant opportunities. Texas Central is pretty much dead after the whole executive team quit a few months ago.

[@IBeforeAExceptAfterK]

With Texas Central's delinquency on its property taxes for acquired land on the corridor, I was afraid Texas Central was dead for good. With Amtrak getting involved I'm actually starting to feel hope again. Please let this happen. We need this.

[@traingirl09]

Yep, they are. There is a train game that I play on. I was talking to one of the regs about Texas Central and he said that they are not even a company anymore. Texas Central took his friend to court over eminent domain laws. They didn't even show up to court and his friend won by default. As far as Amtrak, we shall see.

[@shadowchaser3836]

If this is needed Amtrak wouldn’t need to get involved.

[@IBeforeAExceptAfterK]

@@shadowchaser3836 Just because something is needed doesn't mean that it'll happen without government aid.

[@shadowchaser3836]

@@IBeforeAExceptAfterK if you are correct, that is depressing. The greatest advancements take place where the people are freer and the government restraints are least.

[@IBeforeAExceptAfterK]

@@shadowchaser3836 I think you'll find that the free market is extraordinarily bad at creating things with high capital investment costs. Especially if the creator/owner is unlikely to directly profit from it. The collective benefits of investing in infrastructure more than pay for the cost of construction, but since you're unlikely to recoup those costs through ticket sales most investors won't bother. The interstate highway system would likely not exist had the government not paid for it (or would be nothing but toll roads if it did), and few can argue the benefits it has provided. The US's rail network only got private investment because they were granted large parcels of land around their tracks which they sold to people who built railway towns. I mean no offense when I say this, but I get the feeling you haven't put much thought into your libertarian views. What does it mean to be freer, and what do you mean when you say government restraints are least? By a purely literal interpretation, you are advocating for complete anarchy, which I suspect isn't your intent. Which negative liberties (that is, freedom _from_ something) are worth sacrificing positive liberties (that is, freedom _to_ something) for, and vice versa? One could argue that constructing a high speed rail line grants freedoms that people would otherwise lack (freedom of movement, freedom of choice) at the expense of people's freedom from taxation. Your truism is nice, but it isn't reflective of the complexities of the real world.

[@tuckerprice9663]

The politics of choosing Texas are fascinating. The large liberal states will want high speed rail no matter what. If you build a good high speed rail line in Texas first, maybe you get the conservative states on-board and avoid it becoming a politically divisive issue.

[@highway2heaven91]

This right here. Republicans need better ways to efficiently travel too.

[@everettduncan7543]

A Missouri to Utah route would be a great thing as well.

[@NomadA1]

It’ll be poorly managed and heavily monetized

[@z3iro383]

There's too much red tape and NIMBYism in the large liberal states to get things like this built. Ironically the environmental reviews block things that would help the environment, like this and renewable energy. For red states, they only need their disregard for their constituents to be stronger than their love for big corporations

[@cgmason7568]

Not familiar with the California rail project are you?

[@nukiradio]

Grew up in Texas. I would have loved having a rail from Dallas to Houston. Our extended family lived out there, this would have been a life saver

[@CharlieND]

How cool would it be to see this project come to fruition? If something of this scope can succeed in a place as car-dominant as Texas, then who knows what else is possible. I just hope the Houston end of the branch ends up having decent (and preferably multiple) connections with downtown and the rest of the city. I like your proposal of a connection with DFW. Even though the orange line already goes there, the one-seat ride to other places in the state would definitely come in clutch. This project, along with brightline, strengthens my belief that we could be on the cusp of a high speed rail renaissance in the USA, but only time will tell. Great video!

[@MiaCollinsNeighborhood]

Charlie!!! I think high speed rail from Dallas to Houston will allow for fans to travel between games in the two cities faster!

[@RMTransit]

Thanks for watching! I think as with any AirPort if DFW wants to be world class it needs more pt connections!

[@KyrilPG]

There's never enough access means to airports! London Heathrow has now 3 : the Underground Picadilly line, Crossrail Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express, a dedicated premium service, each their own price point and different ease and speed of access. Plus probably some link to the future Old Oak Common HS2 station. Paris will soon have 4 to CDG : RER line B, TGV high-speed station on the Paris Eastern high-speed bypass (both currently existing), CDG Express (a direct non-stop city center premium service akin to Heathrow Express expected in 2026 or 2027), metro line M17 (Grand Paris Express, fully automated). And at least 4 for ORY : currently RER B / OrlyVAL (a combo RER plus VAL link) and tram T7, then in spring 2024 metro line M14, followed a couple years later by line M18 and very probably also tram line T10 extension. Plus possibly the proposed Orly TGV station on the future Southern link to the HS bypass. Madrid Barajas airport is already served by Cercanias trains and metro line 8. A high-speed train station is also planned. While Barcelona airport is served by both Rodalies (suburban trains) and metro L9S. One-seat rides and a bunch of alternative routes are a must for airports. Given the economic weight and importance of major airports, redundancy is paramount.

[@clarenceoveur2149]

As I recall, the NCTCOG (group of metroplex governments) are pursuing the extension having a stop in Arlington via the I-30 corridor then to Ft. Worth. DFW already has multiple transit connections, while the entertainment district of Arlington has absolutely nothing

[@adamwilliams3673]

@@clarenceoveur2149 That is absolutely by design. Arlington owns large portions of the parking at the stadiums and is completely unwilling/unable to give that revenue up to public transport.

[@starrwulfe]

Imagine being able to live in Dallas but work part time in Houston or attend Texas A&M a few days a week. This is what I was able to do when I lived in both Japan and Taiwan with the high speed rail options there. Picking up and going to do anything 200~300 miles away for the day and coming back in the evening was not a thought other than figuring out whether or not I wanted to stay overnight the few times there was inclement weather; the station side business hotels were a lot more comfortable than sleeping in an airport terminal for sure!

[@NickCorruption]

Wouldn't that be a little on the expensive side for the average person? How expensive is a Shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Osaka?

[@EileenTheCr0w]

@@NickCorruption Like $80 each way. And it's almost certainly going to be more expensive and less reliable here in America

[@insanehippiehippieinsane3828]

@@NickCorruption It will never be built in Texas because over 90% of the land in Texas is privately owned. They will never be able to convince enough of the land owners to sell the land required to build it. Remember all high speed rail needs a buffer zone of a couple of miles on each side of the track for safety reasons. Any politician that backs this will have to support taking or forcing a sale of the land required for it via imminent domain and that will kill their political career.

[@happyzahn8031]

Good stuff but them $50+ one-way tickets are not for everyone.

[@starrwulfe]

@@EileenTheCr0w @NickCorruption Discounted tickets can be purchased at ticket shops as well; the other thing that isn’t being told is because the constant pressure of the Shinkansen is there, it’s pretty easy to get competitive prices in airplane tickets and even cheaper highway bus tickets between the two places; I’d expect the same thing to happen with any city pair in the US served by HSR too

[@kiddo817]

Imagine zooming thru suburbia Houston at 300 kph while I’m chugging along on Acela at 79 kph outside NYC. Sml.

[@nicknickbon22]

It won’t probably go at 300kph in Houston metro are though

[@RMTransit]

It’s very frustrating that the NE corridor doesn’t have some 200 mph sections

[@LouisChang-le7xo]

@@RMTransit fastest zone is a short stretch of track in rhode island and new jersy where trains run at 150mph, but the ancient infrastructure is well... ancient. Trains literally crawl through tunnels

[@terencewilliams7509]

I live in Dallas, and it was just announced yesterday by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. A bullet train will be be built from Dallas to Fort Worth and a stop in between at Arlington, TX where a massive Entertainment district is now being developed near Cowboys Stadium. I really do believe the envisioned plan is to connect all 5 Texas major cities.

[@planbuildrepeat8264]

Source? Would be super cool, but my quick Google didn't turn up anything for dallas to fw

[@railroadforest30]

Awesome

[@vsbaratinho]

I bullet train with 20 miles? Why not building a subway? I believe you're dreaming or don't know what define a HSR.

[@franciscodanconia4324]

We already have the TRE. What would be the point of a 200mph train to run 20 miles?

[@machinismus]

Hmm maybe they mentioned it as a proposed connection to the main bullet train line, which would be fantastic! If they're gung ho about improving transit in the destination cities that means this project would be even more successful. Improving all transit is the key to success.

[@jeremy.oliver]

Good to know Amtrak still cares about HSR projects, even if those projects looked to be dead 2 years ago. I really hope they can do something about all the land acquisition and funding issues the project tripped over in the past.

[@LoboLakerGaming]

This 100% needs to be built, soon. As a Texan, it eventually needs to be a full Texas Triangle connection, linking Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. But the first leg needs to be Dallas to Houston, 100%, and then probably Dallas to Austin. There are currently over FIFTY (50) flights from Dallas to Houston per day (100+ round trip). Hourly or 90 minute HSR service in each direction NEEDS to be a thing.

[@everettduncan7543]

Agreed. Corpus Christi to El Paso, through San Angelo, could be a promising eventual expansion as well

[@LoboLakerGaming]

@@everettduncan7543 maybe long in the future but i would hesitate to say that needs to be HSR. HOWEVER Amtrak at minimum needs to electrify that route (or use better diesel rolling stock than they have now) and have more than one train a day from san antonio to el paso

[@rizzoli7]

@@everettduncan7543that would be amazing. El Paso needs to be more connected to central Texas.

[@jtr789310]

there no High speed rail in the world that break even, you ready for your property tax to triple for high speed rail?

[@everettduncan7543]

@@jtr789310 have you heard of land value taxes?

[@fauzirahman3285]

The Shinkansen was built from new rather than using existing lines, so I guess the same method should apply in Texas.

[@RMTransit]

That’s the logic

[@Ncyphen]

Honestly, with the current state of the US rail network, the only way for AMTrack to become viable is to build their own rail routes. US Freight companies own the US rail lines and have no incentive to maintain the lines with concern for passenger travel. In fact, they have been known to discontinue rail lines that have no them even if the routes were useful for passenger services. The failure of AMTrack outside of the NE can mostly be blamed on said freight companies.

[@insanehippiehippieinsane3828]

This will never happen in Texas. No politician will back this because it will end their political career. Over 90% of the property in Texas is privately owned. Attempting to take land or forcing a sale via imminent domain will not go over well at all. Texans are more than willing to spill blood to keep their property so they can hand it down to their children.

[@garybacon659]

Dallas and Fort Worth are planning a downtown to downtown high-speed line that might be built first. An even better idea, honestly! Especially to get more projects like this.

[@AdamM]

What’s it called? Interested in that. I’ve taken the TRE before. Wish it was express with no stops or maybe just at DFW

[@underscore_d.t]

@@AdamM just high speed north texas, they currently are planning a stop at the arlington entertainment district for some reason, even though personally i think that an entire city ran by corrupt car lobbyists shouldn’t have a rail stop unless they fix their own city.

[@AdamM]

@@underscore_d.t thanks 👍

[@ducks365]

I live in Houston, you're right that being next to a highway interchange is a bit odd, but the station is actually repurposing an old mall that currently doesn't serve much purpose beyond being an eyesore. Another big thing is that BRT has been a big focus on getting long range transit up to speed around here, with the first bits being in the Galleria area, and having been approved to expand more. While there are many highway expansion and interchange projects in the works, some of them leave enough room for BRT conversion later on. We do have some light rail that sucks but Houston in 30 years may not be the Houston that Not Just Bikes hates so much. I do huff a lot of hopium about this city but there's been a lot of good projects recently even if they take forever, so hopefully its not for nothing.

[@chryco4]

I thought this project was dead in the water after the CEO resigned, so happy to see the recent news of the Amtrak partnership so I have some hope for this again. As a native Houstonian who lives close to I-45 on the north side the traffic is always absurd and this project would do so much to alleviate it. Also as a Texas A&M former student getting an easy way to visit Aggieland is a huge plus!

[@KathyXie]

The n700s trains may actually make sense economically with the current situation of the weak yen. Recently Taiwan high speed rail signed a contract of 12 n700s 12 cars each for 850 millions usd which I think is comparable with European trains.

[@RMTransit]

I didn’t know they were getting new trains in Taiwan!

[@TheNewGreenIsBlue]

Nice! Taiwan is using the older 700 series. The N700S ( or rather, the N700-I as that's what they brand their international version ) is a fantastic proven train and you can't afford to screw up trains in America. Go with tried and true... experiment with hyperpoop or whatever later.

[@tipszmikszcsabi8854]

Its really good to see High-speed rail setting a foot in the USA. Tho I do think that this project cannot be compared to the California project. Texas and California have vastly different geographies and I do think that California's solution makes a lot of sense their as the it serves the major population centres easily

[@samlerman-hahn2674]

There's also the fact that California HSR has a bunch of regional rail improvements rolled into it (or at least it's supposed to have them), and that doesn't really work with a standalone Shinkansen-style system

[@seanj4119]

@@samlerman-hahn2674 Agreed. Our HSR situations couldn't be more different. Texas is only starting its urbanization boom. They have no intercity rail network. They're essentially starting from scratch and are enjoying the clean sheet planning freedom and low costs associated with that. The Texas Triangle is also entirely flat, which lowers costs even further. If Texas Central Railway takes off, it will define how they develop forever. California's urbanization boom is already over. We actually have an intercity rail network, or more accurately, what's left of what used to be a world class network that only recently started receiving some TLC from Sacramento. It's really hard building new stuff in places with other stuff already built there, and we have to tunnel through mountains to connect our population centers, so HSR will always be expensive to build here. We've been steadily improving our Amtrak regional lines and local commuter lines for 30 years now, and CAHSR will be the big, beautiful, and expensive bow that ties it all together into a statewide rail network. As a Californian, I'm a little conflicted. I'm disappointed that Texas Central is getting more federal attention than CAHSR and as a result our rival state will probably get the glory of having HSR before we will. On the other hand, the Texas project always had more economic potential anyway and is the more politically beneficial of the two for the current administration to support. So I will be cheering for my fellow rail fans in the Lone Star State... through clenched teeth.

[@happyzahn8031]

CAs system has huge huge cost overruns and has been partially 'bailed out" by the US tax money - not my cup of tea.

[@i.o.wen.d.travels]

I’m hopeful that this project actually happens so that other corridors can get some attention. I would really like to see a connected HSR connecting to the Washington DC Union station through Richmond -> Raleigh -> Charlotte -> Atlanta. This corridor is growing massively and setting up ROWs and starting this project would make room for the giant population in this corridor. This corridor would connect every major city on the Eastern Seaboard besides Florida which could be connected to later via Brightline.

[@jtsholtod.79]

As you mentioned, connectivity to DFW would be valuable, especially if you can include Forth Worth. But there could also be benefits for connectivity to Love, Houston Bush and/or Hobby as well. Maybe not by this line itself, but a rapid transit solution to and from the line at a minimum. But in Texas, it's not only about making it faster than a car, but for cheaper (or at least comparable), and able to accommodate people bringing a lot of stuff.

[@kiddo817]

Not only cheaper but also need much much better local transit. Otherwise build train stations with 1000+ parking spots. Way to bandaid one problem with another problem. 😂

[@29Texan]

*Fort Worth There's already the TRE that goes from Ft. Worth to Dallas and back, and TEXRail to DART Orange Line, which connects to the Airport but makes it a longer ride.

[@RMTransit]

It’s amazing how bad the connections to Houston’s airport are right now on transit

[@roballen3281]

the only reliable and affordable way to IAH is by Uber which is an amazing $70- $80 from downtown, relying on atm buses you will always miss your flight whilst driving and then parking your car is also expensive. HHouston has no viable or reliable public transport to either Airport really is astonishing.@@RMTransit

[@swifthand_]

​@@RMTransitAgreed, but a slight ray of sunshine through the clouds: they have issued a bond to pay for extending the light rail system to Hobby Airport.

[@JacobMendozaturtles]

As a dallas resident, I love that the project is finally moving a little bit faster. I feel amtrak partnership provides the legitimacy this project needed. Im also a big fan of how excited and welcoming the region has been. I really do hole funding and construction can begin in the next 2 years and be done before 2030. I have a lot of faith it could be done but the governer just announced billions to a new highway infrastructure project. The state on a government level is very hostile to the project and many of the airlines in the state are downright enraged at it. I really hope to see the lone star state get its bullet train up and running.

[@highway2heaven91]

Which project is this? Honestly I have no problem with highways getting built as long as HSR gets built too. The state government and the airlines should just embrace the fact that they have competition instead of just trying to eliminate it. It’s not true capitalism if you’re just trying to eliminate the competition all the time. It actually gets closer to communism/socialism when these people act this way.

[@JacobMendozaturtles]

@highway2heaven91 Just look up the new TxDOT project, over 100 billion to be put into interstates. I do disagree with highways in cities but enjoy them for intercity travel. I just hate that the state does actively work against rail and non air and road transport.

[@richardquiroz4808]

As a Texan, I welcome this! We need more public transportation for the state and hopefully it'll be a better way for commuters to use and ultimately lower congested traffic in the cities. Also because, Texas is huge!

[@andrimufid2195]

it's not long, that's just a typical standard for quality videos like yours

[@RMTransit]

Haha, thank you

[@DavidStevensMD]

As an American living in the South, I share both the tremendous optimism and colossal frustration about Texas Central. It could finally show that world class HSR can work even in the conservative and sprawling South. I think you have painted a great picture of all the obvious benefits the corridor would provide and the things it has going for it in terms of actually getting built. But I think you didn't mention several important factors that unfortunately make it still an uncertain venture. The political culture in Texas (at least statewide officeholders) is not very supportive, and better boosterism from state officials would be really helpful. Also, Texas ranch owners might be the most notoriously libertarian defenders of property rights in the United States. Thanks for covering this project!

[@paulsbunions8441]

I'm from Houston, the city will have to update it's current city transportation systems for this to be feasible. No point in taking a train here just to Uber everywhere unfortunately

[@highway2heaven91]

People do this when flying, why not with trains as well. Why do we have to hold HSR to a higher standard than planes? Just take the train and rent a car until better public transport options are available.

[@paulsbunions8441]

@@highway2heaven91 I'm just saying Houston area transport sucks ass. The majority of people who travel from Dallas to Houston and vice versa aren't flying, they're taking their cars. If people are going to not take their cars in favor of this rail system they'll need to update their public transit.

[@ab-tf5fl]

@@paulsbunions8441 There are a lot of people who use their cars to drive around town all the time, but don't like driving long distances. Especially older people for whom road fatigue is a really big issue. People in this group are probably already choosing to fly rather than drive for such trips, and if the train station is a shorter drive from home than the airport, they would be excellent candidates for choosing the train option. Of course, the many people who are road warriors will continue to drive, and that's fine. The train doesn't need to win over everybody, just enough people to sell enough train tickets to keep the train running.

[@ophs1980]

The Post Oak dedicated Rapid Bus line was built in a way that at some point it could be turned into light rail. But unfortunately the plan to link it to the planned light rail line along Richmond has to go before voters again. There's been discussion on another light rail line that would run along the Washington St. Corridor which would link the HSR station to downtown.

[@highway2heaven91]

@@paulsbunions8441 I’m not disagreeing with you on the fact that Houston’s transit is abysmal for a city of its size but to put the onus on Houston’s public transit system to make HSR feasible is completely ridiculous. People still drive even though they can fly as well, so what would be the difference? Once again, why do we hold HSR to a higher standard? If we build HSR first, then maybe it’ll hold Houston’s feet to the fire and they’ll expand the transit system. What reason would they have to do it if we’re just talking about it and it’s not there.

[@rakeembradshaw8333]

As a Houstonian I hope this pushes/ inspires METRO to expand the lightrail system to actually make it useful and help connect the city through public transit

[@frogee8494]

High speed rail will be useless if the destination doesnt have public transit and/or is walkable. But houston is like the worst place ever in terms of that soo...

[@happyzahn8031]

San Antonio has been pushing economically infeasible light-rail for a long time. They previously instituted a permanent tax for the board which just sucks up the tax money every year. Nothing but bureaucracy. If anything will be built and actually run, taxes will be increased out the wazoo and the board and government will expand exponentially. I wish these things could be built without the government getting so bloated over the money instead of applying it to the projects.

[@jenniferallred9367]

This is the sensible response. We need Houston city traffic solutions, not this project.

[@JD_MeanGruene]

Awesome video. As a Texan and mass transit fan, I'm very excited about these developments. There have been two developments by local officials since the Amtrak announcement both with separate funding. Ft. Worth to Dallas with stop at DFW/Arlington for ballparks/theme parks/airport. And a line from San Antonio to Austin that would turn east to College Station.

[@madavanraja3636]

I'm a Texas A&M student and seeing Aggieland/Texas being mentioned in one of the world's largest public transit channel is truely a blessing (and not just in an April Fool's Day video😅) But, I have friends here who are not ready to give up their land here and don't want it to be built. Hopefully things gets resolved soon

[@timothystamm3200]

They might be ok with it if they add stations and thus access. We need more stations and the buy in that will generate, even if that requires a slower local high speed service. However that is what Japan does and that's what gets the buy in so we probably should as well. So we would need 4 tracks for local and express trains.

[@muhilan8540]

The current station is planned about 25 miles east of CStat which sucks, there is a shuttle planned between the university and the station, but I would've liked to see a station in BCS proper.

[@odess4sd4d]

I would like to see a College Station Station.

[@dsims6329]

Revenge of the station

[@willythemailboy2]

@@timothystamm3200 Too many stops will kill the project. Amtrak service near me stops every 40 miles or so and makes taking the train to the nearest major city (Chicago) take longer than driving. Eminent domain the land and force the people off of it, that's the only way it's going to happen.

[@tylerhuttosmith]

Read a letter to the editor in the Houston Chronicle last Saturday that suggested adding more lanes to the highway and even used the I-5 in California as an example of an ideal situation lol. The one concession they gave the train was that it would be more comfortable, but said it would likely not divert traffic, would be expensive( but assuming their plan to expand the highway wouldn’t be?), and said that flying and driving would be faster-again, lol. I wonder if you can write a letter to the letter to the editor?

[@thejokerking9268]

There is already traffic on i 45 if you don’t leave before 10 am. I and a lot of people would rather take a train than sit in traffic in the middle of nowhere

[@tylerhuttosmith]

@@thejokerking9268 I know! I’m with you. The person who wrote the letter to the editor at one point claimed there wouldn’t be large enough ridership to justify it. I call bullshit on that and the rest of their arguments. Having a HSR system would definitely help offset the traffic. He also adds that you have to park your car and get a rental at the destination. I’d assume many people would just use rideshare or have family/friends pick them up. The only true downside I see are the people with homes in the path of the line and I hope they get a fair deal out of it. Aside from that, why not help ease traffic, and modernize our transit a bit?

[@blores95]

It'd be great to see this happen, CA for the liberal states and TX for the conservative states to get everyone else on board.

[@robojimtv]

I think another smarter extension could be from Houston to New Orleans as well.

[@julieyoung3815]

I live in Houston. That would be so nice .

[@railroadforest30]

Agreed

[@HeyItsCettefille]

Seeing the addition to Fort Worth literally almost made me cry. The thought of being able to go home by train is such a lovely thought 💖

[@RVail623]

Kept as a privately funded rail operation, they can use imported rolling stock from Japan. However, if Amtrak became involved, the rolling stock would need to be manufactured in the U.S. That may influence the choice of specific branding. Alstom & Siemens are foreign-owned rolling stock companies, but have set up U.S. based manufacturing. Shinkansen could also create a U.S. manufacturing location, but have not yet done so. Or maybe just a "final assembly" plant using imported parts?

[@Bbq7272]

Yes I dont think that is insurmountable. N 700s built in the US the way other Japanese manufacturers have done.

[@seanj4119]

Nippon Sharyo used to have a factory in Illinois. Maybe this project could reopen it.

[@starventure]

@@Bbq7272 First time there is an accident with fatalities, the Japanese will get razzed by the politicians in the US. It won't matter who is to blame, the public will see it as a foreign hoodwink and go sour on HSR and/or any stuff from abroad.

[@HB-C_U_L8R]

I can't speak for Canada, but what makes HSR so hard in America is that first you have to satisfy the Federal Government, then the state government(s), then the county governments, and finally the city governments. Next you have to fight the people who don't want it in the state courts (possibly in every county you pass through) and then Federal court.

[@andrewmasin5787]

I think that Canadian and US oil companies have contributed to the resistance. For them, every drop counts.

[@zhl8009]

I really like this idea, though it's going to be a hard sell for a lot of people. The first thing to note is that there is just such little awareness, let alone confidence, in existing texas rail networks. DART has some of the lowest ridership per capita in the entire country, and that's already a really bad standard. Every time that I hear about the Dallas-houston HSR, the first thing people point out is how people will need to drive once they get off the train. And with the way things are set up right now, I can't fault them for saying that. Which is because of the second thing to note: existing infrastructure is very bad. Outside of the city center, the vast majority of locations are park and rides with NOTHING around them. I really want to be able to use DART and other DFW systems a lot more, but it's just depressing when there's absolutely no convenience to doing so. There are no restaurants, convenience stores, or any appealing destinations at any of the park and rides without intense walking. So having HSR connect close to DART would be... nice, but we really have a long way to go here. Third thing to note is that the extensions you mention, at least in DFW particularly, either don't make a lot of sense to add or are a far out pipe dream, maybe even moreso than upgrading the Dallas-chicago connection to HSR. DART's Orange line already provides a connection to DFW airport, and the lines that you drew for the extension are primarily across 183, which is entirely occupied by car lanes at the moment. There's also two existing lines that provide service to central Fort worth, one coming from DFW airport and one coming from Dallas. We might as well give TexRail or Trinity Metro an express service line instead of making an obtuse "HSR" connection to fort worth. We'll have to wait for increased ridership for that to happen though, which I hope can be achieved if those miserable park and rides can be turned into places people WANT to be.

[@roballen3281]

good comment. I would suggest using electric hire cars at all stations, rentable by the hour or day for return back to the station, a bit like the bike hire system.

[@zhl8009]

@@roballen3281 I agree that carshare services (essentially what you're describing) would be a great idea, we need more of those. There's only a few carshare spots in all of DFW at the moment.

[@EileenTheCr0w]

@@roballen3281 But with the cost and inconvenience of dealing with that, and paying for expensive train tickets each way... why not just drive? Cause the total trip time will MAYBE take you an extra 30 minutes to an hour? I know people that go from Dallas to Austin Frequently and none of them would willingly take a train instead of their car.

[@wavelength3856]

I love how detailed and fair your mass transit videos are. It's clear that you find these wonderful projects inspiring, but you don't proselytize or spout propaganda, opting instead for realistic, nuanced, and intriguing analysis that's really refreshing in this day and age. Just want to say thanks for your great work.

[@bbukkegayo]

I say this sincerely: I never understood this concept that a "Shikansen" model makes any sense in a US context...it would be one thing if this were a parallel service in a corridor such as [Atlanta/Charlotte/Raleigh] DC - Boston, but it probably makes more sense to go the California approach and conceive of this as an investment in a trunk-line for a reinvigorated regional network. Each incremental improvement (ie conntections from Dallas to Fort Worth, OKC, Kansas City, etc) is that much more significant if you have an open, trunk-line to funnel that additional service through. A closed, private system that forces transfers for no good reason is simply unfathomable. Would be one thing in a transit rich market, where this was serving a very particular niche. Japan largely has this, the US doesn't. Why would we try to replicate a response to a particular market condition rather than re-creating the market condition, itself...? This is another great example of how this strange fetish in planning circles for insisting things other countries do should simply be 100% emulated instead of respecting local context and considerations is overwhelmingly bad. But then, there were people who insisted this project would be completed long before California HSR because it was private and had Japanese partners. Well... 😅

[@bbukkegayo]

*but kudos to Amtrak for finally having some strategic freedom. If we're allowed to send an ask for Christmas: - Get state/local partners, Metrolink, Brightline, CAHSR to agree to some plan to electrify and extend the Antelope Valley Line to Bakersfield by building a tunnel through the Tehachapis. - Improve the corridor to allow high frequency service San Joaquins run directly to LAUS Metrolink runs all the way to Bakerfield (or mirror Amtrak service beyond) Brightline serves LAUS and San Bernadino, could become an interim operator on CAHSR as well - Bakersfield could be a pretty important interchange (I guess Palmdale as well). Santa Clarita *COULD* be, if they just built the Sepulveda line as a Metrolink service...but it's a Metro project, so they can't conceive of doing that 🙃would just need a squeezed in line along the Harbor Sudvision (or, I can't recall which one is still available...?) and you can get inter-city rail service practically to LAX from a good chunk of the region.

[@highway2heaven91]

Definitely, there should be more coordination with Amtrak and local transit agencies on where the best location for HSR stations should be.

[@bbukkegayo]

@@highway2heaven91 “BuT tHeY dOn’T nEeD tO bE iN UrBaN cEnTeRs!” *but they should totally be 100% separated from any other services. No one anywhere successfully operates hsr in mixed corridors.

[@racool911]

People are surprised Texas would be first, but honestly a line from Dallas to Houston makes the most sense out of anywhere else in the country

[@Limosethe]

I think a line from NYC to Washington would make more sense, not that a line from Houston to DFW shouldn't be accomplished...

[@kamareespencer9464]

As a texan you'd be surprised how many more of my fellow people are excited about this project we often get the belief that we are car centric people while we love our cars we also want to have the freedom to choose hopefully this goes through.

[@theheardtheorem]

I’m 48 years old and some of my earliest memories are about people taking about a high speed train in Texas

[@basketballprodigy12]

Why not include a route between San Antonio and Houston to complete the triangle? Seems pretty logical and would cut that trip time in half instead of having to go up to Dallas to get down to Houston from SA or Austin

[@RMTransit]

Perhaps eventually if the demand is there

[@timnewman1172]

​@@RMTransit if it gets built between DFW/Houston, it will be.

[@MrSylvandragon]

id imagine itd be the "third leg built" once the main line between Dallas and Houston is built. and "San Antonio - Austin - Dallas"

[@Mgameing123]

@@RMTransit I mean instead of how you did it. The junction where the Dallas to Houston line meets the Austin line could be near the midway point and a big triangle junction could be constructed making use of existing infrastructure. They could also add a station in the middle of nowhere as a Junction station.

[@rippasix210]

San Antonio to Austin definitely needs rail services for sure. I think this would happen before a San Antonio/Houston leg.

[@TysonIke]

Although this is good news for Texas, it seems like California will get its system first. It’s literally under construction and could have tracks down within 5 years. It’s very expensive but it’s actually got bridges built and land cleared unlike Texas which hasn’t put a shovel in the ground. Edit: the California system might not go to LA, and would require a transfer to SF at first due to costs

[@ianhomerpura8937]

It can go the way that Seoul and most European cities did - traveling through Palmdale back to the old railway right-of-way, then go straight towards Union Station.

[@RMTransit]

Not going to a major city in the first phase is IMO a major problem

[@MarioFanGamer659]

@@ianhomerpura8937 The only downside is that this line has no catanaries, not to mention the line at Tehachapi Pass is limited for freight use (one of the reasons the San Joaquins doesn't go all the way south of LA, in fact). Then again, I remember the IOS is planned to run on diesel first before switching over to electricity.

[@philscherer1605]

​@RMTransit There was zero chance CAHSR was ever going to get statewide approval if they started in either LA or SF first. From a purely technical perspective, yes, the LA to SD segment probably should have been built first, but nobody north of Bakersfield would have voted for that. Despite the handwringing, starting in the central valley was a smart compromise that allowed the project to get started and move past the point of no return. Also, considering how trains work (they need a continously uninterrupted track for the entire route) you need to build that segment anyway for SF to LA, so why not do central valley first?

[@seanj4119]

@@RMTransit Fresno and Bakersfield are major cities. Not big enough to make HSR viable long term without connecting to the coast, but they should suffice as a concept demonstrator to muster up support and funds to reach SF or LA. Please do a video on CAHSR next. It's only fitting after you've covered Texas Central.

[@expojam1473]

YES! I’ve been waiting for you to cover this!!

[@RMTransit]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@expojam1473]

@@RMTransitI did! You did a great job breaking it down. I hope this gets completed soon! Then it can show California to hurry up!!!

[@skydiamond8705]

Being a cross country traveler with my parents and family members who are drivers also as I’m learning to drive to Texas, is the most longest state to currently drive through by car so I think high-speed is the best option and it looks like it’s heading in the right direction

[@KyrilPG]

Nice ! I would have traced the HSL a bit more to the West, with a future junction much more South. It would have a very negligible time penalty but offer the possibility of San Antonio / Austin Houston. The 3 way junction would be located Northwest of College Station, South of Waco. That would also reduce the overall track length needing to be built while really serving every "side" of the triangle, like a 3 branch star, or upside down "Y" instead of being more of a an upside down "V". Great that they chose Renfe, I hoped for either Renfe or SNCF as their consultant as they both are great in conceptualizing and operating very high speed and very efficient systems.

[@MarioFanGamer659]

That's also the most natural way to build TxHSR to me, +1 for this, though I also see a branch north of Waco to also allow for a Fort Worth connection with this suggestion.

[@AdamM]

This is exactly one of the things I’ve been arguing. Just get it built and then we can talk about extensions, expansions, other connections and all that. I don’t know if Amtrak getting involved is a good thing or bad but if it makes it happen, I’m all in.

[@quoniam426]

They shouldn't neglect the possibility of urban extensions to maximize services and hib possibilities with airports. Especially a link from Dallas to Fortworth via the aiport could become the spine of a regional rail uniting the urban area. Adding stations along the way, especially building them around a viaduct is quite easy. The original viaduct remains, becomes the through tracks while the new tracks serve the platforms. If they reflect on this from the get go, they can make things easier for later by creating a structure from which they can expend. Look at Dubaï metro, the U shaped viaduct was especially designed to be simple so they could just build new stations around it where they needed to, once the new stations are built all they need to do is change the signalling system on the track and bam, you have a new stop. For the Texas line, what they could so is build the track supporting structure (whether on ground or on a viaduct) larger than the two tracks at the places where they know future stations could be added, then built the new stations around the strucure and change the signals. (adding switches just takes a couple of nights)

[@RMTransit]

Didn’t know that this was a consideration with Dubais rather unique viaduct design

[@jonathanvillanueva9206]

I heard this project got canned, but I’ll always support more rail projects in the US. As a Texan, it has my full support

[@alexpereira3563]

Every time I hear about this I wonder why this project is being pushed forward the way it is. I don't question the concept, but rather have difficulties understanding why this routing was chosen. I've always envisioned a slightly altered route to eventually better connect all the major texan (triangle) cities in a somewhat integrated hsr-network rather than a collection of two or three lines. The "core" of this "network" would be an actual triangle between Waco, College Station and Round Rock or Austin, then supplemented by "arms" connecting each corner to the major metropolis (Waco -> Dallas/ Fort Worth; College Station -> Houston; Round Rock -> Austin and San Antonio). This way you eventually could serve the entirety of the Texas triangle and thereby also a greater part of the population with much better development potential for also the smaller towns, that have existing cores as well as existing travel demand - instead of that bullshit brazos valley station in the middle of nowhere; seariously, how is anyone going to ever use it? Now, of course that would mean slightly longer journey times, but I don't think that this would make too much of a difference, especially because trains should be able to pick up speed quickly on completely new ROWs and pass purpose-built-stations at high speeds when in an express service. But I feel like a better integrated network would benefit the entire region and be of much more use for a larger number of citizens as well as visitors. You'd probably also save building a few miles, but would probably be somewhat outweighed by the diversion from the most direct route.

[@gingermany6223]

I predict TxDOT will fight this as they own most of the transportation ROW approaches into cities including many of the defunct rail corridors. Fun fact the TX constitution prohibits using land purchased with gas taxes (which is a big part of TxDOTs budget) on ANYTHING other than car infrastructure. For example, we have a transit corridor in Austin TX that is the former Missouri-Kansas rail line that isn't wide enough and too close to houses for anything other than an urban trail that TxDOT is desperately trying to shoehorn a 4 lane road onto that nobody wants.

[@highway2heaven91]

They really could just get on board with this instead of trying to kill projects like these all the time.

[@Jetliner]

Texas has amended its Constitution 517 times, that can always be done again.

[@ophs1980]

This has already been litigated to filth. All of the attempts to block it in the TX Legislature failed. And the Supreme Court of Texas ruled in favor of allowing Texas Central to use eminent domain for land acquisition. This all happened before the Covid shutdowns.

[@thunderb00m]

TxDOT will not stop till the entire state is nothing but a wasteland stuffed with asphalt and concrete.

[@TupyWbie]

Hopefully, they'll manage to actually connect the system to Ft. Worth itself and also connect the two legs with service between Houston and San Antonio.

[@ClementinesmWTF]

I think the third leg would ideally go HoustonAustin with the option to continue to San Antonio. It’s slightly shorter as far as added rail goes, and with the first phase partially traveling the US-290 corridor, an extension along that route would be even shorter still. Even the intercity busses in the state know this is a good option as services like Megabus have routes that do this-a direct HoustonSan Antonio route via I10/US90 only makes sense if you are connecting to the western suburbs of Houston like Katy and Richmond (which is not the case with this project).

[@conorgilles81]

Very optimistic. In car-living Texas, I'll believe it when I see it.

[@alpacarama21]

Imagine! A Shinkansen in Texas! In some ways it makes sense... I remember driving through rural texas 2-lane roads with 70 mph speed limits, they pride themselves on being "more" of everything as we all know!

[@jonothanrennert3098]

My family has been talking about this for a while since we heard the news! My grandpa has to take a trip to Houston every now and then for medical reasons, and we live close to Dallas. Now, instead of having to go through hours of Houston traffic on top of the time it takes to get there, they just have to take the rail and it’s much safer and easier for them!

[@RailFireProductions]

For a downtown Houston station, having the tracks temporarily run along the Amtrak Sunset Limited route and having a station at the intersection of the Houston Metro's Red Line station at University of Houston - Downtown campus may be a good shot. It's located along local transit, it's right outside of downtown, and Amtrak could potentially relocate their Houston station to this location effectively creating a large multi-modal station for Houston.

[@ClementinesmWTF]

It would be nice to see them rebuild the Houston Grand Central Station there (the remnants of which are still easily describable on the north side of the POST) or to resurrect the Houston Intermodal Transit Center (the current location of the much smaller Burnett Transit Center and a UH parking lot).

[@AtleyCarman-xe7rs]

As an Austinite, I would love a high speed connection to the rest of the Texas Triangle. My family and I frequently travel to San Antonio, Dallas, or Houston for short trips, but the drive is a slog. Being able to hop on a train and sit back and relax and not have to worry about the dangers of driving, traffic, or where to park would be amazing. I really hope this becomes a reality

[@weirdfish1216]

2:29 i wholeheartedly disagree with your california high speed rail take. firstly, the bill (which barely passed with 52.6% of the vote in 2008) authorizing ca hsr definitely would not have passed if the train took the i-5 route and bypassed the central valley (with over six million residents). second, building from bakersfield to merced is the only viable option right now because there is not enough funding for the project to begin with and the central valley interim operating segment is the cheapest and easiest way to create a working proof of concept, drum up support for more state and federal funding, and connect the central valley to the bay area and socal’s rail systems. bakersfield to los angeles and merced to sf would need expensive tunnels people need to stop dunking on the project. california is doing the best we can. we’re paying for 85% of the project for god’s sake just because washington has a grudge against our state and doesn’t want to give us any federal funding. but they’ll jump at the opportunity to fund a private project like brightline west with billions of dollars.

[@ficus3929]

100%! CAHSR has challenges, but it’s not that bad! They’re just now starting to build momentum

[@MarioFanGamer659]

Also, pragmatism because building inside-out has a higher sunken cost ratio (i.e. the line is missing out its full potential if it isn't connected to the major cities) than outside-in ("there is quite a lot of demand from Fresno to the Bay and Bakersfield to LA, I'm sure there will be none in-between, let's use our power to finally stop this project for good!").

[@philscherer1605]

I'm confident that funding will start to flow as soon as people see a video of a train with an American flag painted on the outside blow through downtown Fresno at ~240mph during testing in 2028/2029. There's nothing we love more than claiming to be #1 at something and "fastest non-maglev train in regular service" is a great thing to be #1 at.

[@caldodge]

Yes, people should stop dunking on a project which is massively over budget and behind schedule. Nobody should address the fact that it will likely be an expensive disaster. Leave light rail alone!

[@sleepydragonzarinthal3533]

fast transit between major cities in Texas is like cold fusion, it's been just a few years away for the last 3 decades

[@MikyleChristian]

I remember when students were advocating for this when I was at Texas A&M back in 2016/17. The big issue was that the NIMBY's nearly bankrupt Texas Central through legal challenges. I really don't mind the station in Northwest Houston (especially since it's a HUGE almost 2nd CBD) but a good connection to downtown seems crucial. I also hope that the alignment is a little closer to campus instead of 20 mins outside of College Station in Roans Prairie (cheap row and land I guess?).I'm sure the university would run frequent shuttles but within 10-15 minute of campus would make such a big difference. Good airport connections to DFW/DAL & IAH/Hobby would also be awesome.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Imagine if Texas Central goes all the way to POST Houston.

[@jcgoogle1808]

If it's economically viable,..,.. why hasn't the free market built it? Especially when interest rates were near zero? I see a lot of comments on how "this would be cool". If it's so cool, why wasn't it done long ago? As a DFW-ite,... I'm not so sure. I have personally been involved in the project management of some of the DART light rail lines in the DFW area. 1. Nobody likes these things running through their neighborhoods. 2, When they're complete and ridership is checked,.. there's usually about 2 people per car even during rush hour. 3. Obviously this is another potential money pit,.. because if it was economically viable, the free market would already be all over this.. And I doubt anybody who thiks it would be cool understand the financials and what having the federal government involved would do once again to their pocket books. Warren Buffett owns a couple of freight railroads,.. why isn't he involved in this? He has over $100 billion sitting on the sidelines waiting for the impending economic tsunami coming as a result of the horrendous fiscal policy of the current administration. 4. Anytime anything has to be subsidized by the federal government,... it's going to do nothing but add to the deficits and debts and the eventual destruction of the country at this point.. Just 3 years ago in 2019 the government was spending 50% less than it is now. In 2019 the federal government outlays were a little over $4 trillion with about $3.5 trillion in tax receipts. Now the government is spending about $6.5 trillion with about $4.5 trillion in receipts. These are ballpark numbers,.. but not far off. Yes, Trump added $7 trillion to the debt, most of it added in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. The GDP fell by 30% when the deep state decided to shut down the country and the economy. But unfortunately , this insane senile ole joe admin and the demcorats have continued to unnecessarily spend 50% MORE in 2021, 22, 23, 24,.. (all of it deficit spending adding trillions to the debt each year),...years after the pandemic is over,...... than was spent the year before the pandemic started,... and we're not even in a recession. When Trump left office, the economy was growing at 6% with under 2% inflation. These multitrillion dollar deficits and interest payments on the debt, let alone repaying the principal on the debt, has the US on the road to bankruptcy. Janet Yellen just announced that in addition to the over $1 trillion in treasuries she's already issued as of the first half of the year,.. she'll need to issue another $1.9 trillion more in treasuries the last quarter of this year. And this inflationary deficit spending is diametrically opposed to the Fed's efforts to reduce inflation,.. the inflation caused by the deficit spending the senile ole joe admin continues do like drunken sailors. We're currently $33 trillion in debt (with a GDP of about $22 trillion, that's an ~150% debt to GDP ratio) and growing by about $2 trillion each year now. All for far left vote buying pork. This is why foreign countries are selling their US treasuries and forming a new BRIC's currency to replace the dollar as the world reserve currency. This is why food, energy and rent have doubled This is why mortgages are double what they were a few years ago. This is why first time home buyers can't afford a home. If the high speed rail was absolutely 100% funded by the free market and it take all of the risks,... then it might be cool. But another reason to put US tax payers further in hock.. is not cool.

[@realityDUBSTEP]

Please God make this happen. I will cry tears of joy. Give us an Austin to Houston route that stops at my house too pls so I can ditch my car and use high speed rail to commute to work in any of the big cities.

[@slimydog8946]

I appreciate the usual, smooth outro music sir.

[@RMTransit]

Much appreciated

[@roballen3281]

Dallas, College Station Woodlands then follow the Hardy Tollway to Downtown, with Light rail connections to both Airports Medical Centre and Galleria, a light rail loop! Then SanAntonio, Austin Fort Worth HSR, with each city adding regional light rail connections.

[@yuriydee]

I love thats youre always so positive about projects in US and Canada despite so much going wrong in them. Its good to know there is hope for us here. Ive had to fly from Houston to Dallas before and it was a pain in the ass getting to the airports that are far out. I agree if people just tried a proper HSR once or twice, they would understand how much time we really waste in airports and start to factor that into their trips.

[@jxudan]

all major cities should have this! We are so behind in public transit compare to other countries.

[@bethbonney338]

A very interesting video on Hight Speed Rail in Texas. Any thoughts on doing a video on the proposed Northeast MagLev project from DC to Baltimore, and later all the way to NYC.? The NE corridor already has a very robust rail infrastructure, and seems like it would be a great place to add hyper-high-speed transit.

[@bethbonney338]

I believe the proposed NE Maglev has a top speed of 315 MPH. Way faster than any existing high speed electrified rail system. This would reduce the current Acela 3 hour trip from three hours to under 1 hour.

[@drgat6953]

As a native Houstonian I am not going to hold my breath. I have seen this idea in one form or another my entire life. I don't expect Texas Central 2.0 to be much different.

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

An important factor to consider is whether the shinkansen is designed for desert like heat. Central Texas gets really hot summers. The rail, power distribution system, as well as trainsets have to be designed to handle prolonged exposure to hot temperatures at 200 mph. The TGV trainsets have proven reliability under these conditions as they operate on high speed lines in Moroccan desert and parts of Spain. Amtrak might want to explore the HSR implementation in southern spain and morocco when it comes to choosing the most optimal trainsets and track design for Texas HSR.

[@realityDUBSTEP]

Japanese summers are humid and hot just like Central Texas. It is definitely is a little bit hotter here but not by as much as you'd think.

[@wesmorrison1211]

I have been following this project for a long time, I am hoping that with the backing of Amtrak, this project will move forward.

[@triple3miller]

President Biden installed everyone on the board for Amtrak.

[@LQC2556]

It's good to see optimism for this project, but I feel like some of the ideas brought up in the video (extensions to downtown Houston and Austin/San Antonio) would be very difficult, on top of the various technical and legal challenges this project is already going to face. Also, the comparisons with the California High Speed Rail project makes it seem like this project will avoid all the issues faced by CaHSR through different design choices and methodology, but that is definitely not true, especially regarding land acquisition, which is always a huge challenge in the US (and in fact in Japan as well). I'd say that the best way to think about this project is to remain hopeful but understand that it's going to be a slow process, probably slower than that of CaHSR and Brightline West.

[@aliengeo]

That Texas triangle extension!! Love to see it, really hope it happens. Would be extremely useful for me personally.

[@maasbs]

Speaking of potential (political) sabotage @ 13:18 : Dallas, home to Southwest and American Airlines. Chicago, home to United Airlines .

[@thunderb00m]

Lmao yeah, they're going to fight this tooth and nail. For all the airlines green washing they will never support something thats eco friendly but hurts their bottom line.

[@realityDUBSTEP]

That's true but it could also have the effect of driving more flights to dfw from the high speed rail riders like he mentioned in the video. I'm not sure how much of their revenue comes single in-state flight routes between Dallas Houston etc but i think it shouldn't be too big of a political issue

[@ETNLWM]

This video was perfect and on point get this built and build momentum

[@history_leisure]

If you build a branch through Fort Worth, why not just send the western leg that way and close the loop to go San Antonio-Houston with a branch (commuter or High Speed) to Galveston and Corpus Christi

[@cgmason7568]

Too much too fast

[@Porco_Utah]

For those who don't know about Japanese rail road system, they use narrow track and their speed was 35 to 45 miles per hour, so they made wider track width same width as normal US track. and it start to go fast as Amtrak like 120 to 140 MPH. so in a way US had bullet train for long time.

[@girpe5635]

I do really hope they legalise mid-rise development in the us and remove minimum parking requirements, to make this even better

[@saxmanb777]

Dallas is trying to reduce parking minimums as we speak. It’s an uphill battle though with concerned drivers worried about their expected free parking space.

[@McHeisenburger]

Fort Worth resident here, I would kill for a high speed line from here to Dallas/Houston omg

[@deltazoth3987]

I saw google map and Houston HSR station is near from freight rail which is connect to Houston Amtrak station so maybe HSR trains can through for Amtrak station or make a new station to run new rail link would be good idea

[@diovandi]

Whilst that sounds like a smart plan, in practice it would probably not happen since the upside of having a completely independent HSR system is that the system doesn't have to be compatible/follow the conventional rail requirements e.g. crashworthiness requirements, signalling. It would also be especially difficult to sell for the freight operators that probably own that rail link to completely change out their infrastructure.

[@dexterlambert5740]

Thank you, @RMTransit for this latest video. As a longtime resident of Florida, I look forward to anyone proposing an HSR project as a means of not only reducing traffic congestion and minimizing pollution, but fighting climate change as well. Other than the proposed routing (which could change at any time), questions come to mind, such as how much funding will both Amtrak and Texas Central need, how soon can constructing the first mile of trackage begin, how many years will construction take between Houston and Dallas/Ft Worth, lastly, how prepared are the involved parties will be in dealing with opposition from certain government officials, judges, land owners, NIMBY groups, and possibly local airlines like Southwest (whose actions were well documented back in the mid 1990s)?

[@MarioFanGamer659]

I'm surprised that Texas Central ultimately asked Amtrak for help given that the project was supposed to be privately backed (and not just a public-private relationship like Brightline) but alas, I assume the lawsuits did became too much of a hinderance in the end.

[@isaacliu896]

Basically all forms of large scale transportation in the US (airports, highways) are subsidized or fully government funded. So not surprised it's needed to be competitive.

[@RMTransit]

I mean I’m not that surprised, it’s a very hard project to do without major government support

[@Equulai]

I'd say, it also needs a Houston San Antonio connection to complete the triangle and provide services to all major metropolitan areas.

[@KeepAGod100]

I’m from the Midwest having moved to Texas in the late 1990. Back then the political leaders were forward thinking, proud of what they’d already created, i.e, Houston astrodome, Texas medical center (world’s largest), and NASA. Texas leaders then would have been all over the challenge of having the country’s first high speed rail line. Now they sit on the sidelines, infected with nimbyism, offering lukewarm support at best, hence the Texas central leader resigning. But Dallas and Houston are growing and in perfect position to make it work. It’s ridiculous that the world’s number 1 economy doesn’t have high speed rail (Acela doesn’t count). And repurposing the dormant northwest mall is the right idea. It’s a good central location and would revitalize the surrounding area with transit oriented development. Right now, driving from Houston to Dallas is a depressing slog and nobody in their right mind makes it a day trip, doing it twice in one day. Driving to DFW, going through security then walking through IAH but still being on the far north side of Houston is also no fun. High speed rail, at ninety minutes would be a true wonder, for instance Cowboys fans attending an away game then returning the same day. It would offer similar convenience for business workers. There is so much upside to making this work. Let’s get past naysayers legal challenges and do it.

[@LucidFL]

The state did try and failed. I suggest you look up Texas TGV.

[@critiqueofthegothgf]

god im so happy this is finally happening. the texas central website hasnt been updated in 2 years. it's so good to hear news, and very good news, at that, about it

[@adambuesser6264]

Can transit serve sprawling suburbs that are mostly car dependent?

[@ianhomerpura8937]

Australia did that, mainly in Sydney and Perth.

[@warrenroby6907]

I love the enthusiasm and optimism! I hope I live long enough to see it all come about.

[@ahamjax]

I understand that DFW and Houston are the largest metro areas, but there's not much between them. I really wish the i35 corridor from San Antonio to Dallas would get more love. Theres so many large towns after San Antonio and Austin.

[@KingAsa5]

Well the big idea is to connect all Texas cities and that is the plan. Just gotta do the DFW-Houston first.

[@mmmodafoca]

with the upcoming World Cup that will see Houston and Dallas as host cities, this high speed rail is very much needed and appreciated. My future dream is to see high speed rail all accross texas.. catch a ball game in Dallas, hit the rodeo in Houston, and end the night somewhere in Austin... i mean come on.

[@alistairlee7604]

When I heard about this, I was intrigued. I researched that they were planning on importing N700-I Shinkansen sets (built for export) but decided to bring on the newest generation of Shinkansen N700S once it was launched in Japan. Very interesting.

[@keiming2277]

N700S will export to Taiwan, replacing some of the existing N700T. And E5 series is set for the India HSR project, also for sale if the price is good for Japan

[@alistairlee7604]

@@keiming2277 Hm. That's cool.

[@keiming2277]

@@alistairlee7604 The main problem is, will Japan or anyone who’s looking to be the train supplier for this project is….. Will they willing to export the technology to build the train in USA ? China, the rising power of the high speed railway import technology form Japan and Germany as part of their deal for buying those trains for the amount of money and eventually they built their only train

[@FalconsEye58094]

DFW Airport is a pretty aggravating place, in every sense, from the time you land to the time you get off the plane is like 20 minutes, won't complain not having to go there

[@Patmorgan235Us]

It's a big airport, and if you land on the wrong half from your gate it is quite a long tax to get to the other side

[@nicolasblume1046]

What would it take to extend the line closer to downtown Houston? Could it just run parallel to the highway System, maybe elevated in the median?

[@ianhomerpura8937]

High speed railways have less curves and must be as straight and level as possible. Good luck with that.

[@nicolasblume1046]

@@ianhomerpura8937 not entirely true. Look at the Shinkansen south of Tokyo station: It runs parallel to existing train lines, with a lower than usual speed and tighter curves. The same thing can be seen all over europe, the final approaches are often slower So it would be totally fine if this section would be a little slower too (for example 100mph)

[@MarioFanGamer659]

@@ianhomerpura8937 Looking on a map, the rail from Cypress to Houston proper has fairly gentile curves and that is apparently taken for Texas Central. The only excuse why it doesn't go further is presumably the aquisition of land next to the station.

[@nicolasblume1046]

@@MarioFanGamer659 is the route safeguarded at least?

[@Triring65]

The Dallas airport extension is actually more hurtful than useful since the airport to downtown section will be oversaturated with passenger requiring to place more trainsets at shorter intervals while the remaining Dallas to Huston section not requiring that many. Better solution is to construct a normal route to Dallas airport to Downtown and an easy transit between the two lines coordinating the time diagrams so the extension will be virtually seemless.

[@TheWoblinGoblin]

tbh the Chicago idea is nice but they could way easier just expand to the smaller cities on the way once they are set up also what about the southward connection of the triangle?

[@stevebolandca]

That was my thought. Not sure why Reece is talking about Chicago when the Austin/San Antonio-Houston link is right there. 200 miles, 12 million people ... right in the sweet spot for HSR.

[@RMTransit]

I mentioned the Texas triangle in the video before talking about anything else

[@highway2heaven91]

Reece forgot Tulsa 😭 He mentioned many of the cities around it, including Wichita and Springfield which are much smaller, but still forgot it 😢. A great Dallas-Chicago corridor would have been Dallas, OKC, Tulsa, Springfield, St. Louis.

[@TheWoblinGoblin]

@@RMTransit sorry, I should have expressed it better - I meant connecting St. Antonio and Houston, so that not all connections have have to go through the top of the triangle. I realize now, it might not be far enough to be worthwhile.

[@SomniRespiratoryFlux]

I've never been to Texas, and have never been especially interested in going there, but from a purely practical standpoint it's a logical place to do this. Even with the Triangle clustering the majority of the state's population in a relatively small area, that area is still big compared to even some entire states in the NEC and I'm sure everyone would appreciate an alternative to driving on congested highways or flying in-state. Plus, even aside from the expansions you mentioned, it'd be easy enough to connect the cities with others both in Texas and in bordering states if there would be enough demand. Like, Houston eastward via New Orleans, Mobile (with possible additional stops or just connections to other transit to get to Gulfport, Biloxi, or Pensacola), Tallahassee, and Jacksonville to connect to the Florida corridor. And DFW to OKC could be possible as well, but given the direct route passes over indigenous nations, that would have to be done with their input for certain. San Antonio could also be a hub for points south of the Triangle, like Laredo and Corpus Christi, and possibly even Brownsville if enough people there want the connections northward to be feasible. ...The real issue I see with the dream of connecting all of Texas with HSR is that anything westward is pretty small and rural compared to the Triangle region, aside from maybe El Paso, but that's so far from the rest I dunno what to do about routing or where to connect smaller but notable cities in between those. Don't mind me, these transit videos always have me look too far ahead at what kind of pipe-dream future transit we could eventually have, even though I know I'm no expert. I just like the thought of being able to catch a train for everywhere I need to go in this country rather than put up with interstate highways for that purpose. And a HSR grid the scope of the IHS would be a great thing to work for. ...You mentioned in this video a possible plan for a nationwide HSR map, I might have to look more into that.

[@BeardedBaldy]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. On one hand it would be awesome for the US to FINALLY get high speed rail. On the other hand in 90's, Texas had a high speed rail proposal successfully lobbied against by Southwest Airlines. This just feels like deja vu.

[@saxmanb777]

SW was a small Texas airline back then. Now they are huge and haven’t said anything about this new project.

[@Salaundre]

I’ve been hearing this for 10 years and nothing has started. The auto industry has been blocking this.