Routes and station locations under consideration
More than 100 people were in attendance on Tuesday for the first of six public meetings being held jointly by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Texas Department of Transportation on Texas Central Railway’s plan. The FRA is leading a federally required environmental impact study of the proposed project, which aims to connect Dallas and Houston in 90 minutes or less with Japanese-manufactured trains traveling at more than 200 miles per hour.
At the meeting, federal officials revealed some details on the leading routes and station locations under consideration, though they said everything was still subject to change.
“We’re not just talking about the bugs and the bunnies and the air quality and the water quality,” James Maughan, an environmental science expect with the U.S. Department of Transportation, told attendees. “We’re talking about any aspect of the human environment that might be impacted by this project.”
That includes the way the project could affect property owners and “the archeology and cultural resources” of the region, he said.
Maughan said the federal study was also taking into account the financial viability of all the possible routes and station locations because Texas Central Railway won’t build the high-speed rail line if the company can’t make a profit.