Dallas

New push for High-Speed Rail with a Dallas Transportation Hub connection

Top North Texas Transportation Planner says there is new momentum for high-speed rail.

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There’s a new push in Dallas to accommodate High-Speed Rail service to Houston and Fort Worth.

The century-old Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station could become a surface transportation hub to help connect other modes with the planned high-speed rail terminal that would be nearby.

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Dallas City Council Members heard the latest plans this week.

“This is really exciting that we get to be the center of where high-speed rail is really going to launch,” City Council Member Omar Narvaez said.

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It all depends on actually moving forward with the Dallas to Houston high-speed rail project announced years ago that was to have been constructed with entirely private money and Japanese technology.

That dormant project received new life last year when US passenger rail provider AMTRAK announced it was stepping in to partner with high-speed rail firm Texas Central.

“I think clearly there’s a lot of momentum,” North Central Texas Council of Governments regional transportation director Michael Morris said.

Among the top reasons, Morris said AMTRAK has boosted attention for the Houston leg so NCTCOG has renewed earlier plans for the Fort Worth leg.

“They and us recently won a corridor identification program with the Federal Railroad Administration. So, we are now both in a path to receive federal funds from the Federal Railroad Administration,” Morris said. “We're on a path for implementation going into the same station.”

That station for the Dallas to Houston service to be constructed south of I-30 in the Cedars neighborhood near Downtown Dallas already has the first level of federal approval, so Morris said the Fort Worth leg should connect at that location.

City council members were shown an animation of how an automated moving sidewalk could run under the incoming Fort Worth tracks to connect with a greatly renovated and expanded Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station.

Union Station already serves:

  • DART light rail trains and buses that travel throughout the Dallas area
  • Trinity Rail Express commuter trains that use a different route to Fort Worth with many neighborhood stops
  • A Dallas Oak Cliff street car that is planned for expansion through downtown Dallas
  • Traditional AMTRAK passenger trains. A new AMTRAK service to Atlanta from Dallas is proposed in addition to existing routes.

All of this is also close to the new Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center that was approved by voters. The convention center has a heliport that could one day connect air taxis.

“It's a tremendous opportunity for the City of Dallas to be a national leader and enter into an international state with regard to how high-speed rail can significantly change the economic density of buildings and growth that you see,” Morris said.  

The Fort Worth high-speed rail leg calls for a station in Arlington which would also offer a connection with DFW Airport.

“It will make Dallas the hub and I think Downtown Dallas in the way it hasn’t been for a long, long time, so I think that’s exciting,” City Council Member Kathy Stewart said.

Amtrak passenger Raymond Green who was waiting for a trip to California at Union Station Wednesday said he supports all the plans.

“It’s actually a pretty good idea, bring a lot more people into this side of town,” Green said. “Amtrak is actually one of the better ways to travel to be honest. I like the legroom.”

A man and wife visiting Dallas who declined to share their names said they do not like Amtrack service.

“I’m against government paying for it all. I think If it will support itself with the public paying for it, good deal. Private is the way to do it,” the man said.

Federal Infrastructure money approved by Congress for big projects would be the difference in restarting the stalled Texas high-speed rail plan.  Opposition to the plans remains strong in areas between Dallas and Houston.

Another concern with the Fort Worth leg arriving in Dallas comes from owners of the former Reunion Arena site that’s adjacent to the planned Dallas stations.

A $5 billion development is planned on that land and Morris said the owners do not want a train running through their site. They have requested that a subway be constructed to handle the incoming Fort Worth trains.

Dallas City Council Member Chad West has heard those concerns.

“It goes back to the real estate loss and I'm going to keep asking those questions,” West said.

Morris said a goal has been continuous one-seat service from Fort Worth to Houston and linking the Fort Worth leg at the same height as the Houston leg makes a subway approach very difficult. Morris also said other nations with high-speed rail have experienced major increases in development around stations, enough to offset any loss of the narrow strip of land a rail path could take.

“Everyone now perceives this is getting closer and this is more real. So, now those remaining doubters are correctly asking questions to make sure this is the best that can be provided for the City of Dallas,” Morris said.

A decision on the subway question will be necessary in the next several months to move forward with a final proposed path for the Fort Worth leg for the next steps of approval.

“We’ve got to get it right because we’re going to be the leaders for the entire nation,” Councilman Narvaez said.

Several Dallas City Council Members were still concerned about cost and verification that AMTRAK will pursue the Houston leg.

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