Texas is one step closing to having a bullet train.
The Federal Railroad Administration signed off on a project by Texas Central Railroad to connect Dallas and Houston via high-speed rail, the Houston Chronicle reported on Monday. The company needed federal approval before it can begin construction.
Texas Central Railroad said that construction will start in 2021 and take five to six years. It's expected to cost about $20 billion and will be similar to to the high speed trains used in Japan. Once built, a trip between Dallas and Houston is expected to take about 90 minutes on a 200 mile per hour train. Stops are expected to be built in the two major cities and near College Station.
There's plenty of opposition to the proposed bullet train though. Since the train route is expected to cut through rural Texas, rural landowners and residents are worried it'll devalue their property or they'll have their property taken away through eminent domain.
“The proposed Dallas to Houston route would threaten the property rights of Texas landowners whose farms, ranches, and homesteads sit along the route – land that has at times been in families for generations,” said U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Conroe, earlier this year.
Other project opponents do not want taxpayer funds used on the project.
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