The Biden administration is moving taxpayer money to another stalled high-speed rail project, this time to Texas, which has faced years of delays due to a lack of private investor interest, legal battles with landowners, and an executive exodus. dropped hints that it might be sent.
President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of restarting construction on the failed Texas Central high-speed rail project through new funding to connect Houston and Dallas using Japan’s bullet train technology. We talked about sex. sauce he told Reuters. Despite starting nearly a decade ago, the project has been largely stalled since 2022 as private funding dried up and top management resigned, and so far no progress has been made. according to To the Texas Tribune. (Related: We now spend more on debt interest than on defense, report finds)
The previous Biden administration granted Donated $500,000 to Amtrak to further investigate the feasibility of a train from Houston to Dallas.After the meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Kishida, the White House released The fact sheet states that projects in Texas may be eligible for funding opportunities as long as they meet certain nondisclosure requirements.
“The U.S. Department of Transportation and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism welcome Amtrak’s leadership in the Texas Central High-Speed Rail Project utilizing Shinkansen technology, recently selected for Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) corridor identification and development grant.” program,” the White House said in a fact sheet. “Upon successful completion of development efforts and other requirements, this project will be eligible for future financing and financing opportunities.”
The project would provide little real benefit to travelers who can already travel by car or plane between the two cities, but to landowners along the rail line and taxpayers who would have to fund the potential project. has withstood criticism from opponents who argue that it poses significant downsides. Experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that more funding is needed in the future, but there is no guarantee it will be completed.
“I just don’t see the need for that,” Mark Joffe, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, told DCNF. “I don’t hear any major complaints about people not being able to get from Houston to Dallas or vice versa. There’s no public response to this other than saying, ‘We’ve got high-speed rail,’ and trying to catch up with the Japan, China, and France of the world.” I really don’t understand the point of allocating funds. ”
The project, aimed at connecting Dallas and Houston, was originally planned to be entirely privately funded, but former CEO Carlos Aguilar said in 2021 that Texas Central would be He indicated he would not ask for subsidies or taxes and would accept long-term funding. loans from the government, according to To WFAA.
The main headwind slowing construction is acquiring the rights to build on land along the proposed railroad tracks, and the Texas Supreme Court finally decided in 2022, after years of fierce opposition, to provide widespread access to central Texas. granted eminent territorial authority. according to To the Dallas Morning News. With a green light from the Texas Supreme Court, Central Texas could even be allowed to go straight on land given to former slaves after emancipation, including the Mauney Berry Farm, which has been farmed by the same family for more than 100 years. be. according to To D Magazine.
“The real big drawback of this railway is that you have to minimize distances and keep the track as straight as possible, because if you have too many curves or too many sharp turns on a high-speed railway, you can ”The idea was to go through a lot of ranch land to get that benefit, and of course that’s because families have long-standing farms and ranches. It’s bad for people who are. They want to continue doing business there for generations,” Joffe told DCNF.
Joffe said a better way to move forward with the project would be to move it along the side of Interstate 35 between Dallas and Houston, rather than clearing and dividing people’s land for speed and travel distance. They argue that the goal is to run the railway.
But supporters of high-speed rail projects argue that Texas has access to alternative transportation options.
“Texans need more options for getting around our vast state” Houston Chronicle Editorial Board I have written. “This committee has supported investments in local mass transit projects and intermodal transit. Take a more scenic, faster train ride north to Dallas on Interstate 45. Who wants to avoid an eyesore on their drive?”
The project ran out of cash during its land acquisition quest, failed to raise enough private interest and ultimately fell behind on 2021 property taxes. according to to the Reason Foundation. Cost estimates have increased from his original $10 billion to more than $30 billion as of April 2020, according to the Reason Foundation.
Some critics say Texas Central shouldn’t get the money because its former executives have little experience running a railroad and are unable to successfully manage the project.
“The company is so secretive that no one knows whether there is actually a definitive completed construction plan,” said Reroute the Root, a group that opposes the use of tax dollars for the project. ” said John Citilides, federal affairs advisor. The current expected route told DCNF. “We assume that something like a plan exists, but for four years they have not submitted the required federal construction permit application or detailed project funding information to the Land Transportation Board. declared federal jurisdiction over the project in July 2020.
The last press release from Texas Central is: released In August 2023, the company announced that it was in negotiations with Amtrak to advance planning and analysis work on the Texas Rail Project. The proposed route is 340 miles long with an estimated travel time of less than 90 minutes.
“As we look around the country, one of the most interesting and promising projects coming up next is the vision for Texas Central.” @Secretary Pete On the bullet train between Dallas and Houston.
Click here for part of the interview@gromerjeffers @DallasNews @NBCDFW. pic.twitter.com/uQn7ab1P4m
— Phil Prazan (@PhilPrazan) April 7, 2024
Biden has particularly supported rail projects during his presidency, designating $66 billion for Amtrak in 2021 to maintain and modernize existing lines and expand across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Amtrak has never been profitable and is estimated to continue to lose about $1 billion a year.
“Many high-speed rail proponents are using carbon dioxide without accounting for the need for energy-dense hydrocarbons to provide the enormous additional baseload to power the 240-mile-long system. They will talk about the envisaged benefits such as reducing carbon emissions and electrifying transport. We also manufacture steel and cement, which are essential for railway equipment and rolling stock,” Sicilides told DNCF. “Texas has become increasingly reliant on wind turbines, and current power generation levels have resulted in power outages and outages in recent years. We are working to manage the flow of power and maintain the reliability of our energy system. Texas agencies have no plans to mandate the creation of additional capacity for the high-speed rail system, which could overwhelm the state’s energy system, where electricity demand is already constrained.
The Biden administration has also earmarked more than $3 billion to support high-speed rail projects in California, which were first approved in 2008 and have not seen significant progress since then. The project, aimed at connecting the California cities of Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield, is expected to cost between $88 billion and $128 billion to be fully completed.
“As someone who moved to Texas from California 12 years ago, I believe there is a good chance that high-speed rail in Texas will eventually be built if we can get the necessary funding and access the land needed to complete the project. “The California high-speed rail project is entirely a California project and is therefore doomed to endless overruns and delays,” said the former California state legislator and current director of state initiatives at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. said Chuck DeVore, director. DCNF.
The Biden administration also announced $3 billion in funding for another high-speed rail project linking Southern California to Las Vegas, Nevada, a quarter of the estimated $12 billion needed to complete the project. Only. The project is estimated to be completed by 2027 and will require about $400 in ticket fees to turn a profit, which is much higher than operating costs.
“If we receive funding from the Biden administration, Texas lawmakers will immediately become very skeptical of this project,” DeBoer told DCNF. “Promoted as an entirely privately funded project, no more and no less than the subsidies of Biden’s Green New Deal, it will likely invite opposition from a majority of the Texas Legislature.”
Other initiatives funded by the Biden administration are also subject to union requirements, which could slow progress and increase costs. For example, Biden’s introduction of electric vehicle chargers would require certification or union approval for electricians who install chargers.The California High Speed Rail Authority recently announced It created 13,000 union construction jobs.
“The proposed project is a $40 billion outrage and would destroy the middle of 1,800 farms, ranches, businesses, and private properties that contain significant African American cultural heritage,” Reroute the Root said. spokeswoman Jennifer Stevens told DCNF. “The proposed route has no connection to the airport. Passenger numbers and revenue projections have plummeted since COVID-19. Floodplain concerns following Hurricane Harvey have not been taken into account,” Buttigieg said. It does not address any serious issues with the proposed project.”
Texas Central and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from DCNF.
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