DMN talks to Perry staff about hi-speed rail

Response to Hutchison platform

Jay Blazek Crossley, Jan 11, 10.

Mark Miner with the Rick Perry for Governor campaign says that “Governor Perry is in favor of intercity passenger rail service” according to an interview published on the Dallas Morning New Transportation Blog.

The interview comes in response to the recent transportation platform released by Senator Hutchison, who is running against Governor Perry in the Republican primary for Governor of Texas.

Miner noted that Governor Perry gave the Texas Transportation Commission the authority to pursue Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDAs) to pay for rail, supported the Texas Mobility Fund, which could be used for rail, and that TXDOT “submitted the appropriate applications to the federal government” to request Federal stimulus funding for high speed rail. Rodger Jones with the Dallas Morning News characterized the responses as “not strong advocacy for the development of rail,” but noted that no candidate for Governor wants to “get into the details - money and property rights.”

The two candidates will meet in a debate this Thursday, January 14th at 7pm, along with Tea-Party candidate Debra Medina. The debate will be broadcast online at TexasDebates.org and on PBS Channel 8, ABC Channel 13, and Univision Channel 45 in Houston.