High-speed rail vision shows early Houston line

Includes slower feeder network

Steve Hawley, Feb 11, 10.

The US High Speed Rail Association (USHSRA), which was formed last year, has released an expanded national high-speed map, according to its email newsletter.

Last summer, the group announced an ambitious vision for 17,000 miles of track carrying trains at 220 miles per hour. The group estimates that its vision would cost between $800 billion and $900 billion to implement. The new map shows two Texas lines as recommended for the first phase, to be in service in 2015.

The new plan builds on that vision to include 110-mile per hour trains feeding into the high-speed rail network. “This map shows where the 220 mph systems make the most sense in the busier corridors, and where the 110 mph systems work best to serve smaller cities in less busy corridors - we need it all!” said USHSRA President Andy Kunz.

The plans are far more extensive than those put forward by federal or state governments. The federal government recently announced the first $8 billion in high-speed rail funds, most of which went to Florida, California, and Illinois. Texas, which federal officials said was completely unprepared for high-speed rail, received just $4 million to improve rail crossings along the Texas Eagle connecting Austin and Fort Worth.

The plans also differ significantly from what Texas officials are promoting. USHSRA calls for a triangle-shaped route connecting San Antonio, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston - similar to a plan that failed in the 1990s. State officials, on the other hand, want to build a “Texas T-Bone” route that would link San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas-Fort Worth on one line, with an intersecting line running between Fort Hood and Houston. Officials estimate that T-Bone, which would cost one-third less than the triangle proposal, would cost between $12 billion and $18 billion and could be completed by 2020.

USHSRA is a national organization that was created as interest in high-speed rail skyrocketed last year following the announcement of the high-speed rail stimulus funds. USHSR says it is working to put together a $100 billion fund for financing high speed rail projects in America. This fund, and the idea of an infrastructure bank, will be topics of discussion at a High Speed Rail 2010 conference in Orlando March 4-5. “The fund will follow the Federal ‘seed money’ that has been given out as part of the stimulus package, and leverage the power of the private sector to advance high speed rail across America”, said Thomas Hart, Vice President for Government Affairs at USHSR.

In addition to the Florida conference, USHSR President Andy Kunz will give a talk at the upcoming “Financing High Speed Rail USA” conference in Chicago on February 23-24. Leading experts from the private capital markets will be present to discuss private investment funding high speed rail projects in the US.

USHSRA map
USHSRA map (animated)