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Texas Central Project


MaxConcrete

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Topic hijacks are going to be removed, so spare us all the trouble.

 

 

 

 

I'll have to dig out the link, but I read earlier today that a 2016 groundbreaking for the Dallas high-speed rail is envisioned.  Seems optimistic..

 

http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/the-woodlands/houston-to-dallas-high-speed-rail-could-break-ground-in-two-/

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In case anyone is interested in what type of equipment might be used (as noted in Trinton's link above):

 

http://www.usjhsr.com/usjhsr/N700-I_Bullet.html

 

Check out the starting acceleration speed.

yeahh.. definitely no stops in College Station or The Woodlands, or anywhere else between the two cities for that matter.. still wouldnt mind seeing an extension to Galveston but i dont see them needing nearly as many train cars for that route.

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yeahh.. definitely no stops in College Station or The Woodlands, or anywhere else between the two cities for that matter.. still wouldnt mind seeing an extension to Galveston but i dont see them needing nearly as many train cars for that route.

I think that the big question around stops is whether they intend on running two tracks in each direction or if they are running just one. If they are running only one for cost savings, then the stops would limit their ability to run non-stops between Dallas and Houston. If they're running two tracks, then the intermediate stops would have very little impact.

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I think that the big question around stops is whether they intend on running two tracks in each direction or if they are running just one. If they are running only one for cost savings, then the stops would limit their ability to run non-stops between Dallas and Houston. If they're running two tracks, then the intermediate stops would have very little impact.

for sure, i was just saying no stops in reference to the 2 mph gain per second acceleration speed of the train when it starts up (and probably a similar deceleration rate when it slows down)..

i would assume they will just run one track in each direction. if they insisted on having stops somewhere along the way for the occasional trip, they could branch off the track to double track just at the local station.

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for sure, i was just saying no stops in reference to the 2 mph gain per second acceleration speed of the train when it starts up (and probably a similar deceleration rate when it slows down)..

 

 

The 2mph/sec equates to reaching top speed in 1 minute 42.5 seconds. Or (in car terms) 0-60mph in 30 seconds.

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haha yes.. i suppose your right. anyways i still hope they dont go down the 290/6 route with a stop in college station, and instead opt for the red or blue lines down 249 or 45. strange they mentioned in that most recent article that the line options were 290, 45, and 59 though.. i havent seen/heard anything about a potential route down 59.

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The Monterrey-OKC route pisses me off. First train paid for by the gov and it skips Houston.

Doesn't matter, assuming Republicans keep control of the state government, there's no way that they let the gov train finish before the private HOU-DAL train. They want that train bad so that they can point out the differences between the TX high speed rail project and the CA project.

If that project can launch on budget and be successful, it's a huge selling point to pitch to businesses about why they should come to Texas.

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If they were smart they would share a station in Dallas so ultimately you can go from houston to okc via transfer.

True

Doesn't matter, assuming Republicans keep control of the state government, there's no way that they let the gov train finish before the private HOU-DAL train. They want that train bad so that they can point out the differences between the TX high speed rail project and the CA project.

If that project can launch on budget and be successful, it's a huge selling point to pitch to businesses about why they should come to Texas.

Mexico line has lot of implications houston line doesn't

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That's the point in the conversation that supporting detail is normally provided.

There is a lot of business between Mexico and the us and this line could help jump start that to a further degree. Also thaws the relationship in general. But there is no funding on our side at the moment I see a PPP solution most likely.

Edited by Slick Vik
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

I thought Texas Central Railway said they'd have more info on the planned route between Dallas and Houston by now. Inevitable government study delays? Funding issues? Securing land purchases before announcing station locations?

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I thought Texas Central Railway said they'd have more info on the planned route between Dallas and Houston by now. Inevitable government study delays? Funding issues? Securing land purchases before announcing station locations?

Hopefully, it's securing land purchases before announcing the route. I would expect that they would want to keep the route under wraps and work to purchase the necessary land through shell companies to keep acquisition costs down.

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From CityLab (formerly Atlantic Cities):

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/06/the-big-texas-plan-to-copy-japans-high-speed-rail-success/372984/

 

Says this project has been progressing "under the radar" for 4+ years, and is undergoing an environmental impact study that could take 2-3 years.  Expected delivery (or hopeful) delivery of this high speed rail system is 2021.

 

Apparently this was the route picked by the Japanese out of a possible 91 others!  So must be some real traction behind it.

Edited by arche_757
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From what I've been reading, it sounds like one of the biggest concerns is potential opposition from Southwest Airlines, who's been successful in getting this killed in the past.  Southwest has been neutral on the project in public comments so far, but there is certainly a possibility that they will pull a move at some point in the process.  Texas Central seems to have their act together so they might be able to handle that if it happens.

 

As I think I mentioned before, I think that the biggest thing that this project has going for it is that nothing would make state leadership happier than to be able to stick it to California by getting a privately launched high speed line launched before the government funded California line.  I think that they will try to smooth the way anyway they can to achieve that.

 

The state has been putting a big effort behind recruiting CA companies for years.  Getting this done would give them a huge selling point.

Edited by livincinco
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Back in the day, taking Southwest from Houston to Austin or San Antonio was a far more viable option than it is now; shoot, even HOU - DAL isn't the no brainer that it used to be unless it's just for one day.  It's also a much larger airline than it was even ten years ago.  I suspect that the Texas Triangle Southwest started with probably isn't as integral a part of its business model these days.

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Back in the day, taking Southwest from Houston to Austin or San Antonio was a far more viable option than it is now; shoot, even HOU - DAL isn't the no brainer that it used to be unless it's just for one day.  It's also a much larger airline than it was even ten years ago.  I suspect that the Texas Triangle Southwest started with probably isn't as integral a part of its business model these days.

 

Agreed, but I have heard that its a very profitable route for them.  I'm with you, I'd like to think that they won't contest it, but it is certainly a possibility that they will.

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Southwest 20 years ago was a shell of the airline it is today.  I don't think they will fight this development much - as it will take at least till 2021 till its open (and that is optimistic).  LUV has had to operate with restrictions, but with the Wright Amendment lifted/ending I would suspect that Dallas Love Field will start flying less frequently to Hobby and more often to some other cities.  Hobby on the other hand will also start offering flights to Mexico and other Latin American markets here in a few years.

 

I would think the folks working on this focused first on making Southwest happy.  Perhaps that is how they got the new terminal at Hobby over Uniteds great posturing and threats?  Remember these aren't just business men, some of them are former government officials who held pretty powerful positions at one time and have connections.  I think this system has teeth where the other one proposed in the 1980s was all bark.

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Agreed, but I have heard that its a very profitable route for them.  I'm with you, I'd like to think that they won't contest it, but it is certainly a possibility that they will.

 

I just checked Southwest's website and I can get a one-way ticket from Houston to Dallas for $90 on Monday, July 21 (just picked a random weekday about a month ahead).  flight time is 55 mins.  I have to wonder if Southwest doesn't view it as a big deal since the proposed travel time is 90 mins and maybe they'll have to charge similar or higher fares for the trip.

 

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Agreed with Slick Vik.  I think this thing would have been stopped by now, if Southwest was really trying.

 

The rail - might be 90 minutes, same with the air travel.  But figure in check-in lines, baggage claim and the like and you may have a figure closer to 2.5 hours or so for air travel.  IF (clearly a big IF) you didn't rent a car in either Dallas or Houston you would be off the train and out of the station in 95 minutes.  Presumably you would have the chance to arrive at the station within 5 minutes of departure and still make the train (unlike air travel).

 

Southwest is fine.  They've got a lot more options than they did in 1980 or 1984 or whenever the last attempt at HSR between Dallas and Houston was announced.  This line will probably allow them to offer Dallas to Calgary flights they may have wanted to open in the past but can't because of the Wright Amendment and the need to have 30 planes dedicated to HOU-LUV daily (or whatever the number is).

 

This proposed HSR would be a boon for DART and METRO and any other bus lines and taxi cabs.  It could really open up how businessmen/women operate between the two metro areas.  They could even eventually extend it to Denver with stops in OKC.  Or to Chicago through Tulsa and KC?  Who knows?

Edited by arche_757
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