Inside Texas' bullet train: Texas Central Railway

Inside Texas’ bullet train: Texas Central Railway

Some find it mind boggling that America has yet to embrace high-speed rail, which has with bullet efficiency been transporting Asian and European travelers for some 50 years now.

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California’s plan to install a San Francisco-Los Angeles line — at a cost of $68 billion — won’t be complete until 2029. The slightly less buzzed about Dallas-Houston 200-mile-per-hour bullet train is on pace to be beat it, according to an article on the Atlantic’s City Lab blog.

“The project has been progressing below the radar, very quietly, very deliberately, over the last four years plus,” Texas Central Railway CEO Richard Lawless told reporter Amy Crawford.

Lawless believes that if Texas’s rail, which is privately funded, meets with success, it will change future travel in America.

Interestingly, 20 years ago the private developer Texas T.G.V spent $70 million toward a bullet-rail system; they were halted, largely due to opposition from Southwest Airlines, according to the story.

If you have a few minutes, check out City Lab’s series on The Future of Transportation, which includes thought pieces on How to Fix Your City’s Transportation System, the electric-car dilemma and The Rise of Bicycling.