By Aleks Phillips
U.S. News Reporter
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President Joe Biden is reportedly seeking to revive a project that would construct a high-speed railway from Houston to Dallas in Texas utilizing Japanese bullet trains.
According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, citing unnamed administration sources, the White House is looking to make an announcement on the project following talks between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, D.C., this week.
The Japanese government and the White House declined to comment on the report, though the project has seen renewed support from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who told KXAS in Fort Worth on Sunday: "We believe in this."
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"Obviously, it has to turn into a more specific design and vision, but everything I've seen makes me very excited," he added.
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A statement of support for the project from Biden and Kishida could create renewed efforts to bring it to fruition, including funding from the Department of Transportation and attracting private investors.
Bullet trains can operate up to a speed of 200 mph, and therefore pose a potential for shortening the time it takes to travel between cities. While one would take an estimated 90 minutes to travel between Dallas and Houston, the same journey by road would take about three and a half hours.
This would make traveling between the two cities easier, promoting the economies of both and stimulating the jobs market. Having a high-speed link would also alleviate the need for through-trains on slower lines, meaning more stopping trains could be scheduled as required.
As the U.S. spans vast distances, public transport has largely been localized and intercity travel dominated by cars. A successful high-speed rail link would take commuters off the road, aiding the Biden administration's push toward a green economy.
However, the project still faces potential obstacles, including lawmakers in Congress and Texas. A 2017 report by the Department of Transportation put the cost of the project at $15 billion to $18 billion, but some estimates have put it as high as $30 billion.
The train line could also face opposition from landowners along the various proposed routes who would likely have to contend with disruption from construction, noise in residential areas from passing high-speed trains, as well as nearby protected species' habitats being impacted, according to an assessment by the Federal Railroad Administration.
The issues have hampered other high-speed rail links, such as the HS2 project linking London to Birmingham in the U.K., which has seen costs spiral due to revisions and delays in construction. In October, the British government cut back the proposed route to save money.
The plans have also faced regulatory constraints. As this is the first of its kind in the U.S., the Department of Transportation spent three years devising safety standards for railways with trains traveling in excess of 150 miles.
American railways suffer frequent derailments due to lax regulations and aging infrastructure, with many railroads running level with the ground and across roads. In 2022, the Brightline connecting West Palm Beach and Orlando in Florida suffered a spate of deaths after pedestrians got onto the tracks.
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