Dallas-to-Houston High-speed Rail Plan Will Make Texas' I-35 Corridor a Loser, Competitor Says

One of the world's largest train operators says that its proposal of a passenger rail network that includes the Interstate 35 corridor would be a better fit for Texas than the $15 billion Dallas-to-Houston bullet train that's on the table."Look at the state as a whole. Instead of creating a link, create a network," said SNCF America president Alain Leray, who is visiting Dallas, Austin and Waco this week on the heels of filing his company's eight-pages of commentary on the Federal Draft Environmental Statement for the Dallas-to-Houston line.Maryland-based SNCF America, a branch of the French National Railway, pitched its "Texas T-bone" idea to the Federal Railroad Administration in 2008 and 2016. The plan calls for "higher speed rail" service of 125 mph.The railroad administration has instead proceeded to work with Texas Central Partners on a Dallas-to-Houston bullet line featuring speeds up to 210 mph and using Japanese technology."Of course, SNCF, the state-owned and highly-subsidized French National Railway would declare they are against competition and block the world's best high-speed train technology from coming to the U.S.," Texas Central said in a prepared statement.SNCF concedes that the Shinkansen bullet trains in the Texas Central plan are safe, comfortable and reliable. However, they and others say the technology is not compatible with that currently in use in the U.S.If Texas Central Partners is first on the ground in the U.S., SNCF officials feel it may be game over for their firm and any other competition.Currently, federal regulations do not address equipment requirements for train speeds above 150 mph. Texas Central Partners has petitioned for what is known as a rule of particular applicability (RPA). If the RPA is accepted and Texas Central successfully builds the nation's first bullet line, it will be creating the standard. "I think they have done a remarkable job. They are fighters and go-getters," Leray said Monday of Texas Central. "Their chances of getting an RPA elsewhere becomes so much greater if they get this."  Continue reading...