Texas Bullet Train Preferred Houston Station Location Named

"One of my international bucket list things I want to do is ride one of the bullet trains in either Japan, China or France.  Hopefully before I leave this planet I will see that type of high speed intercity rail service operating here in the United States."-TransGriot, March 9, 2014

Well, looks like I may see and get to ride a bullet train in my lifetime, and right here in my home state if things keep progressing with the 240 mile (386 km) Texas Central Railway bullet train line getting closer to actually being built.

If built, the normally four hour drive by car between Houston and Dallas would be cut to a fast 200 mph 90 minute train ride, with departures every 30 minutes.

The preferred Dallas station location was already announced a month ago as a 60 acre site near the intersections of Interstates 30 and 35E  just southwest of downtown Dallas. 

The Brazos Valley stop in eastern Grimes County will be built in Roans Prairie, a town of 50 people halfway between College Station and Huntsville.

Texas Central Railway announced the preferred location for the  Houston station yesterday, and it's on the site of the nearly deserted Northwest Mall near the intersection of Loop 610 and US 290.

“Houston continues to grow. Growing the smart way includes providing a wider choice of transportation options that goes well beyond more private vehicles and more roads. The Texas Bullet Train project fits the transportation paradigm shift I have called for, and now with the selection of a preferred location for the Houston station, we are one big step closer to boarding for an exciting trip to the Brazos Valley and on to Dallas,” — Mayor Sylvester Turner

The Northwest Mall site was chosen because it would cause minimum disruption of the nearby neighborhoods, easy access to the railroad right of way, access to existing road networks currently under construction and access to METRO's nearby Northwest Transit Center


Public comment is happening at various sites along the length of the rail corridor, with how you feel about the train split along urban and rural lines.  In Houston and Dallas there is widespread support in both cities for the project, but vehement opposition to it in the rural areas that the elevated trains will pass through on the way to Dallas and Houston

We'll see if the construction on this train actually gets cranked up next year.   If it does, I'm one step closer to crossing a bucket list thing I've wanted to do in terms of riding a bullet train off my list.

And the best part is I won't have to leave Texas to do it.

Texas Bullet Train Breaking Ground In 2018?

Whenever I wish to go to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, my options rights now are to either drive or ride the nonstop Megabus between the two cities via Interstate 45 which takes four hours to do, or fly.

The flight between the two cities is only a little over an hour, but that's before you factor dealing with TSA security at airports on both ends of the trip plus driving to and from the airports, be they Hobby or IAH on this end of I-45 or Love Field or DFW on the other end.

There may be a third option added soon for those of us in both cities, and it's tantalizingly close to becoming a reality in terms of high speed bullet train service between Houston and Dallas.

The Texas Central Railway trains would be based on the Tokaido Shinkansen N700 ones that have been zipping between Tokyo and Osaka for over fifty years with a pristine safety record, and would take 90 minutes to zip between the two cities at speeds of up to 205 MPH along a 10 county route.

The Texas Central Railway is a privately funded effort that aimed to get that service started by 2020, but has been delayed a bit until 2022 because they are awaiting the final environmental impact statement and ongoing negotiations with landowners along the ten county high speed train route corridor to acquire the right of way necessary for the trains to handle their high speed travel business

The surprise election of Trump also threw some uncertainty into this with all his 'America First' campaign rhetoric.

Texas Central claims they have 30% of the land needed to get the project going, and 50% of the land needed in Waller and Grimes Counties near the Houston end of the line.   They also have two preferred sites for the Dallas HSR station near downtown.   On the Houston end are trying to decide whether the HSR station will be near downtown Houston or at the METRO Northwest Transit Center.north of the Galleria.

Grimes County, which is the home of Texas A&M University, will also have a stop along the 240 mile line.

We'll.see if they meet their goal of starting construction on the line next year so it can be completed for passenger service by 2022.  But if TCR is successful in doing so, once the line is operational, I won't have to travel to Japan, France ,China or Germany to experience riding a high speed rail train.

The best part about that is I'll get to do so  in my home state.