[DAL to HOU in 90 Mins]TX Group Races for High-Speed Rail

At the rate this area is growing it will only get worse. Something has to be done.

What do you think would be more feasible then this?

 

I would rather have going to Austin quite frankly

 

Great these derned jap trains are gunna bankrupt our oil companies and erode wholesome American values

 

And if the inventor was anything like that damned terrorist Satoshi nakamoto.. we are goin to WWIII over this

 

Austin needs to worry about getting people around Austin than getting people from Austin to SA. High speed rail isn't the answer for that. I don't think Austin wants to invest in the needed changes to revamp their public transportation. Similar to Houston in those regards.

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...fts-to-stretching-bullet-train-to-6710235.php

Focus shifts to stretching bullet train to downtown
Local officials seek ways to connect riders with downtown

By Dug Begley * December 19, 2015 * Updated: December 19, 2015 11:26pm


Leaders of area transportation agencies are reviewing strategies to bring passengers from northwest Houston, where a proposed high-speed train is expected to stop, into the central business district.

Officials with the Gulf Coast Rail District, Houston-Galveston Area Council, Texas Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transit Authority are involved in a comprehensive planning study of rail, generally in the Washington Avenue and Interstate 10 area.

The study, building off numerous previous reports and research by the agencies, is intended to provide a template for how to develop rail between a site at or near Northwest Mall and the former downtown post office.

The study could be persuasive should local officials want to encourage the Federal Railroad Administration or Texas Central Partners, the sponsor of the Dallas-to-Houston rail project, to rethink extending high-speed rail service to downtown, said Maureen Crocker, the rail district's executive director.

"Really, time is of the essence at this point," Crocker told rail district officials about changing the high-speed rail plans.

Options unclear

Last month, based on Texas Central's research and analysis, federal officials removed a downtown link from further study of a planned Houston-to-Dallas bullet train. The privately funded, $10 billion project still must pass various hurdles, secure all its financing and acquire land. The company has said it expects to start construction in 2017 and begin operating in 2021.

In Houston, interest in the 240-mile rail link has refocused onto its last few miles. Stopping at U.S. 290 and Loop 610, while advantageous for travelers to and from the city's west side, would eliminate what some say is a critical link to downtown.

A 2012 study commissioned by the rail district found that commuter rail along the U.S. 290 corridor would carry an estimated 5,960 riders in 2035 without a direct connection to the central business district. With access to the urban core, ridership increased to 22,580 per day. The study did not examine the effect of the connection on intercity trains.

That ridership, for comparison, would be about half what Metro's Red Line carries on an average work day.

Absent a high-speed extension, options for a plausible rail connection between Loop 610 and downtown are unclear. Freight railroads have been unwilling to provide access or space for passenger rail in the area. Neighborhoods along the potential route also fought to avoid disruptions.

A possible course - as officials suggested to Texas Central - was a rail line alongside, within the median or elevated above I-10, said Chelsea St. Louis, a senior transportation planner with H-GAC.

Metro participation

Yet even an I-10 route has limits, namely heavy competition for space along the freeway. TxDOT has discussed managed lanes along I-10. The first step in developing a regional rail plan would be to sort out those various interests.

"We should get all of the partners together and talk about what the next step should be," St. Louis told rail district officials.

Though they were absent from earlier discussions, Metro officials now are engaging in the process. Metro is by far the region's largest public transit agency and the only operator of passenger rail in Houston, apart from national Amtrak service.

"For such a study to be successful, Metro has to be a full working partner," said Metro board member Jim Robinson, the transit agency's appointee to the rail district.

The various agencies, including Metro, also have different priorities. Even among those interested in a rail link, the demand and types of traveler vary. Metro must consider the needs of all transit users, not just those hopping off high-speed rail, board member Christof Spieler said.

Despite the uncertainty regarding how far into the city's core a high-speed rail line would extend, officials believe it will fit nicely with future transportation options.

"High-speed rail will be a win for the region," Crocker said. "High-speed rail combined with regional rail and a direct connection to downtown will be a win-win for this region. ... This is the time to pull them all together."

 

Interesting. The Northwest Mall is a dump though. Driving by it you're amazed it has been closed and demolished (or maybe it has, it's hard to tell).

 

Well it should see a lot of revitalization if this train plan takes off.

I'm a little incredulous about the ridership being so much higher leaving out of downtown than out of Northwest Mall.

 

If this thing gets built, there really needs to be a high speed link into downtown. Having a stop at NW mall isn't a bad thing, as I could envision a fork with a group of passengers heading to downtown (and possibly on to the Med Center via MetroRail) and another heading to the Galleria area.

 

The advantage that NWMall has over downtown is that people can get in and out onto several difference routes home (or from home) without dealing with downtown. It's always a crazy busy hub for park and ride at the rodeo.

 

To build an intercity train line you first need to have a good train system in the individual cities. This doesn't work. You get off the train in Houston and then what ? You then have to find your way around using the worst public transportation in the entire country.

 

I guess I'm being too Houston-centric in thinking about this. Downtown is not as good as NW mall for Houstonians to congregate to to get on a train. For Dallasites coming to Houston, they're probably headed to offices downtown. So, yeah, I guess a good link is needed.

You can use Uber.

 

By the time this thing is built we will have self driving cars

 

I agree that this may be a cart in front of the horse scenario with the poor transit we have in Houston (and Dallas, too, when compared to other large cities around the world).

Honestly, with TSA nonsense and the challenge of getting transport to and from stations, that 90 minutes is going to turn into 4+ hours. Might as well drive and have a vehicle when I get where I'm going.

We already have self-driving cars.

 

I would love this. Would make flying into see my family for the weekend about $60, plus train ticket.

 

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Grimes County Commissioners working to block bullet train

 

"Remember, if we started sellin' Hussein-mobiles, it wouldn't be Saddam good fer our economy."

 

Please build the damn thing, and for god's sake, do something smart for a change and include the line to Downtown Houston. I can't believe that's even up for discussion. And begin planning and land purchasing for a line from Houston to Austin/SA, and from SA/Austin to Dallas. Get high speed rail in Texas off the ground, people! Build The Texas Triangle. I'll use it, and use it a lot. I have a lot of people in Houston, a bunch in SA, and a kid in Dallas. Do it!

 

Perhaps its time for a new method of transport... Flying cars?