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By Jasmine Laws
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A Texas state representative is hoping to develop a high-speed rail line along a major north-to-south highway running through the state, and Newsweek spoke with experts about it.
Democrat John Bucy has proposed legislation that would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to join forces with a private company to build and maintain a high-speed rail line along the I-35 highway, connecting Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.
"Texans and those visiting our great state deserve robust options for travel and commuting. The IH-35 corridor is a major hub for work and recreation, and it only makes sense that high speed rail is an option for this corridor," Bucy, who has represented southern Williamson County in the Texas House of Representatives since January 2019, wrote to Newsweek in a statement.
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He added, "It's time for Texas to lead once more on infrastructure, including on transit. Making Texas as good as its promise must include extensive and modern transit systems."
There are reportedly no specific plans mapped out for the route of the high-speed train through Texas, as Bucy's legislation focuses on securing the funding needed for the project first.
In his statement to Newsweek, Bucy said, "The biggest challenge would be that state law currently prohibits spending on certain rail projects like this one."
He wrote that his proposal "would reverse that and direct Texas' Department of Transportation to enter into a comprehensive development agreement with a private entity to construct and operate a high speed rail line between Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio."
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One part of the legislation requests for "the use of state money for high-speed rail operated by a private entity and to the construction of certain high-speed rail," starting from September 1, 2025.
Another bill proposed by Bucy asks for "the use of certain money transferred to and deposited in the state highway fund as required by the Texas Constitution," but would come into effect two years later in September 2027.
Discussing the benefits of high-speed rail, University of Texas at Austin Professor Randy Machemehl told Newsweek this project could offer travelers a choice of using airlines, auto and high speed rail, and ultimately could "offer time savings compared to the other two choices."
Given the possible migration of passengers from airlines to the high-speed train, Machemehl added that airlines had previously "opposed" proposals of such trains, which could make the development of the project more complicated.
Director of the U.S. Department of Transportation National University Center Professor Chandra Bhat also said to Newsweek that high-speed rail is "generally safer than highways," as it operates on dedicated guide-ways with computerized control.
He added that this region of Texas in particular has "considerable potential for high-speed rail ridership," because of its high growth rate and the fact that the distances between Texas metro areas are around 250-300 miles.
He said this distance was "ideal for high-speed rail travel, given the distance can be covered by high-speed rail within one and a half hours."
Bhat also said that the project would boost the number of new jobs for those in Texas. High-speed rail "will require regular maintenance, so the new job boom would not just be temporary," he added.
However, Bhat added that there is an "elephant in the room," referring to other new travel technologies and how the competition among these new travel technologies could affect the high-speed rail development.
He said, "Consider the case of self-driving cars, or sometimes referred to as autonomous vehicles or fully automated vehicles. These technologies are also on the horizon for mass deployment and may be within the next ten years."
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This is not the first high-speed rail project being pushed in the state of Texas, as Dallas City Council members recently travelled to Japan to learn from the country's rail experts in the hope of building one of it's own.
The council members' high-speed rail route was proposed as going from Dallas to Houston.
Americans are overwhelmingly in support of high-speed rail, according to a Newsweek survey carried out earlier this year, although it remains a thorny issue in the Lone Star State.
People "think it costs too much. It's a waste of taxpayer money," William C. Vantuono, editor-in-chief of Railway Age, previously told Newsweek.
Kirbie Ferrell, a policy analyst for the Eno Center for Transportation and a native Texan also noted that a lot of Texans have responded to high-speed rail with concerns that their land and property will be infringed upon.
"Texas has this philosophy of private property, protecting your property, property that's been in families for generations," she said in an earlier interview with Newsweek. "I would say that's the root of it. Texans protect their property."
Update 11/21/24, 11:00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Professor Chandra Bhat and Professor Randy Machemehl.
Update 11/25/24, 02:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Representative John Bucy.
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