Texas unlikely to receive initial high-speed rail funds

Due to lack of planning

Steve Hawley, Jun 25, 09.

Texas is unlikely to receive any of the $8 billion in high-speed rail funding from the stimulus package and the subsequent $5 billion pledged by President Obama, according to the Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News.

The Morning News says that the state’s “highway-centric approach to transportation” puts Texas at a disadvantage compared to other states that have done some planning for rail. It quotes Armadeo Saenz, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), who said on Wednesday, “Texas is really behind everyone else because we have not done the studies to see if high-speed rail corridors are feasible.”

The article notes that the Texas T-Bone proposal has substantial support, but it has never received state funding or been formally evaluated. According to the Express-News, the state’s “chances of getting the big federal bucks for high-speed rail may be eclipsed by those of California and Florida, which unlike Texas have already done extensive environmental studies and financial planning for their proposed systems, and have even acquired some right-of-way.”

Although Governor Perry did sign a bill instructing TxDOT to create a State Rail Plan, a proposal to create a state high-speed rail authority failed earlier this year. The bill was approved by the Senate and incorporated into the TxDOT restructuring bill, but the TxDOT bill fell through and the original bill never made it to the House floor for a vote.

The Federal Railroad Administration released its high-speed rail funding guidelines earlier this month, and draft high-speed rail proposals are due to the Federal Railroad Administration by July 10, with final proposals due in August. The federal government will award the first funds in mid-September.

However, there is some good news: the proposed transportation reauthorization bill calls for $50 billion in high-speed rail funding over the next six years. It may be up to 18 months until the new bill takes effect, but if Texas moves forward with the planning process, it may become eligible for federal funding.

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