Texas Central Project

[Houston19514]

I think the only thing remaining of Dr. Pepper in Waco is the Dr. Pepper Museum.  Headquarters was long ago moved to Plano and I don't think they even bottle the stuff in Waco (they have Texas bottling works in Houston, Irving and San Antonio).

[cloud713]

Point being.. Waco is bigger than CS. What justifies a stop in CS besides thousands of college students that may or may not take a train home once a month or so. (Note: I don't think Waco needs a stop either..)

[august948]

The other point being that they're already studying a hsr line from SA to DFW and maybe beyond in both directions.  If you are already going off the direct route from Houston to DFW to go through CS, it's not that much further to continue on to Waco and then to DFW.  At that point you've then got a 90 mile segment of ROW already built towands the SA-DFW line.

[cloud713]

The other point being that they're already studying a hsr line from SA to DFW and maybe beyond in both directions. If you are already going off the direct route from Houston to DFW to go through CS, it's not that much further to continue on to Waco and then to DFW. At that point you've then got a 90 mile segment of ROW already built towands the SA-DFW line.

Yeah that's another great point. Maybe they could bring back the Texas T-bone design. I never preferred it, but economically it seems to make the most sense sharing some of the track/ROW.

Only thing with that is the Dallas-San Antonio like is being studied by the Feds I believe, or at least a different group than TCR, so TCR doesn't have much benefit extending the rail out towards Waco to catch up with that line when that line will have a different operator.

Edited September 17, 2014 by cloud713

[BigFootsSocks]

The point being like already said before is that CS has a booming Bio Chem and Medical presence thanks to the 400? Million federal grant that will allow them to work extensively with TMC. Why do you think the Tomball Parkway is finally being built out to Navasota?

CS provides a much higher point of interest than Waco, but like I've said many times before I don't think either of these two cities need a station at the start. Sure it would be nice once the initial infrastructure between the major cities is up and running and more importantly, generating revenue.

[august948]

Just found this...shows the routes being considered during the environmental impact process...

 

 

http://impactnews.com/dfw-metro/grapevine-colleyville-southlake/environmental-study-on-high-speed-rail-from-houston-to-dalla_3/

 

 

[BigFootsSocks]

I'm getting the feeling that the 290 route might be the one they go with as much as I think it seems the least likely. With the rumor'd station at the Galleria and the possible station at CS it just seems like the right choice.

 

Although the red route seems like a straight shot...

Edited September 18, 2014 by BigFootsSocks

[august948]

I'm going to put my money on the BNSF route.  I recall one of the bigwigs saying there would be a stop east of CS.  The BNSF line looks like it runs about 14 or 15 miles east of CS.  Also, at least looking at the map, it appears that the UP route is the longest of the three and so would be more expensive and take longer to traverse.

[august948]

Following the BNSF route on google maps, it runs right through the middle of Tomball (a station serving the northern suburbs maybe?) and then continues down to near the junction of 290 and 610 where it makes a turn to the east and runs parallel to the north loop.  Where it makes the turn, near TC Jester Park, there is a large vacant lot (at least on the google satelite view).  Could that be the "Galleria area" station?

[Slick Vik]

I'm going to put my money on the BNSF route. I recall one of the bigwigs saying there would be a stop east of CS. The BNSF line looks like it runs about 14 or 15 miles east of CS. Also, at least looking at the map, it appears that the UP route is the longest of the three and so would be more expensive and take longer to traverse.

I agree it seems the shortest distance wise of the three

[IronTiger]

I think that the College Station one makes the most sense (because partially it makes more sense in terms of communities served, and there's more political power than Teague or Huntsville). As for "it's the most out of the way" argument, remember HSR is supposed to be really fast, that's why they're building it and it shouldn't make that much of an issue in the long run.

[cloud713]

I hope it's the red or gold route..

[BigFootsSocks]

I'm going to put my money on the BNSF route. I recall one of the bigwigs saying there would be a stop east of CS. The BNSF line looks like it runs about 14 or 15 miles east of CS. Also, at least looking at the map, it appears that the UP route is the longest of the three and so would be more expensive and take longer to traverse.

True, they didn't say it would be IN College Station, but somewhere near it so maybe you're right as the blue route just seems too out-of-the-way for a direct connection.

[MaxConcrete]

Following the BNSF route on google maps, it runs right through the middle of Tomball

 

That's the problem with existing rail alignments. They run through the center of many small and medium-sized towns, which will necessitate more grade separations (=more expensive) and potentially incite more opposition. I agree that the BNSF route has fewer small towns than the Union Pacific route, but just follow the BNSF route on Google maps and you can see how curvy the alignment becomes about 120 miles north of Houston, especially north and south of Jewett. Its seems to me that much of the alignment is unsuitable for HSR due to curviness.

 

The Union Pacific alignment has big problems with towns and cities along the route. Just heading out of Houston: Hockley, Waller, Prairie View, Hemptead (sharp curve), Navasota, Bryan-College Station, Hearne, Calvert, Bremond. That gets you about halfway.

 

Interstate 45 consists of a sequence of straight sections with curves between the straight sections. This is especially true closer to Dallas. I think most of the curves are too sharp for HSR.

 

So this is the fundamental problem, which applies not just here but on most existing rail corridors in the United States. To get an alignment suitable for HSR, you need a new alignment. But that drives up cost, creates opposition and causes environmental issues.

 

That being said, there is already a report which says the alignment goes east of College Station. That means a new "greenfield" alignment. If they are going to make this possible/feasible, I think they will follow multiple existing corridors when possible but much of the corridor will need to be on new alignment to avoid towns and curves. It remains to be seen if that can be done and maintain feasibility. If this is going to move forward, I have a suspicion that TxDOT will need to be involved in purchasing right-of-way for the new alignment and possibly leasing it back to the HSR corporation.

[IronTiger]

Well, like highways, they would have to largely avoid a bunch of populated areas. Let's say that TxDOT wanted to build a tollway from Austin to College Station. While they could widen a bunch of areas, they would have to build bypasses around cities like Caldwell and many other cities I'm not listing. Same with HSR.

[BigFootsSocks]

http://www.wacotrib.com/a/proposed-texas-high-speed-rail-line-focus-of-meetings/article_2b54bb33-b3cb-58dd-ae8b-4095dc6fe0a4.html

 

“I cannot tell you today that we have 100 percent of the project financed because until we complete the environmental process and the design engineering standards, we won’t know,” said Eckels, who didn’t give specifics on financing. “But I can tell you that there has been millions of dollars spent on investment-grade studies and the banks are still with us.”

Eckels said it was unlikely that the names of all the private investors in the project would be released.

But he did say the Japan Bank for International Cooperation has come in with an initial guarantee of a substantial portion of the debt, which he said had attracted a lot of other investors to the project.

So depending how much "substantial" means, this is another good sign for the Texas HSR!

[j_cuevas713]

Oh God, so pretty soon we are going to have to deal with people from dallas!?

[BigFootsSocks]

Little late to the party...

[Sparrow]

No word yet on when and where the upcoming TCR/TxDOT public meetings will be, but surely when these happen over the next month or so we should have a much clearer picture of precise routes and potential station locations. Starting to feel like the process is taking longer than TCR intended--thought we were supposed to have more route details several months ago.

[MaxConcrete]

[Sparrow]

Based upon where the scheduled meetings are, it seems likely the proposed route to the west of I-45, between Huntsville and College Station was the preferred route (website does not have details as of this hour--but will soon!).

[Montrose1100]

I'm laughing about the Stop in Corsicana and Teague. Corsicana is a stop idea on all three lines! Looks like I can ride the train up there and walk to Emhouse just in time to kill some mesquite trees.

[BigFootsSocks]

I don't think those are stops, just planned meeting places as the line will probably pass through that area.

[cloud713]

What Bigfoot said... But yeah. The scattered cities to the east and the west lead me to believe it's the 249/middle route

[BigFootsSocks]

^which still allows the rumored CStat station to be true.

[cloud713]

The red route looks like it's 15-20 miles east of CS

[Sky-guy]

http://eaglefordtexas.com/news/id/136929/meetings-scheduled-high-speed-rail-line/

 

[UtterlyUrban]

Do folks really beleive that this rail route will be built this time around?

What makes this time different than any prior time in the last 30 years? I have seen proposal after proposal. Is this something real? How can you tell?

Edited October 14, 2014 by UtterlyUrban

[Howard Huge]

Oh God, so pretty soon we are going to have to deal with people from dallas!?

Yes, its going to be called "The Ebola Train"

[Naviguessor]

Howard. You just aren't funny.