State Senate approves creation of high-speed rail authority

Bill goes to House

Steve Hawley, May 06, 09.

UPDATE (6/15/09, 2:08 pm): The high-speed rail corporation was added to the House version of the TxDOT restructuring bill. However, the bill failed, and SB 1570 never reached the House floor for the vote. As a result, it appears that the legislature has not authorized the creation of a high-speed rail entity.

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The Texas Senate approved a bill on Tuesday to create a Texas high-speed rail corporation, according to WFAA TV in Dallas/Fort Worth.

The corporation would be charged with planning and developing a 200 mile per hour rail system connecting Houston to Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Antonio. According to the article, the entity would seek federal funding for the planning stages of the project and rely on private investments for construction. The system could cost anywhere between $10 billion and $40 billion, according to the Houston Chronicle.

According to WFAA TV, Sen. John Carona of Dallas, who chairs the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, said, “Texas could see high-speed rail on the ground and operational within a decade.” He continued, “In the years to come, air travel is apt to become more expensive, not less, and high-speed rail provides an alternative for our transportation needs.”

The measure (Senate Bill 1570), which passed 25-4, now goes to the House for approval.

The high-speed rail corporation, if approved by the House and the governor, would differ from the Texas High-Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation, a nonprofit founded in 2002 to build political support after a failed high-speed rail attempt in the 1990s.