Images by Texas Central
THE BULLET train
would operate on
a line that had
no rail crossings,
adding to the
safety factor.
Project Update: Bullet
Train Brings Texas Into
the High-Speed Era
By Maile Bucher
As the interest in high-speed passenger rail begins to pick up
pace in the United States, Texas Central is developing a connection
that would span between Houston and North Texas, cutting
T commute times by more than half. THE 240-MILE rail
HE HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIdor
that is underway in Texas
would connect riders from
Houston, the Brazos Valley and
Dallas/Fort Worth. Th e highspeed
rail line is headed by the
privately owned company, Texas
Central Partners. When the project
was fi rst being developed there were
96 diff erent city pairings that were
examined. Developers found that
the cities that would benefi t most
from the line would be the pairings
from North Texas to Houston.
“Th e high-speed train is a fi rstof
a-kind high-speed rail project
in Texas and the nation. Th e 240-
mile high-speed train project connects
North Texas and Houston
— two of the nation’s largest and
fastest-growing economies — at
200 mph, with one stop in the
Brazos Valley,” explained Holly
Reed, managing director of external
aff airs for Texas Central.
“Th is 90-minute train experience
gives Texans the freedom of
choice, providing an alternative
to today’s almost 4-hour drive or
unpredictable air travel.”
In a dedication to safety and
minimal impact, the bullet train is
60 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
line would cut
down on freeway
traffic from “super-
commuters.”