Texas Bullet train and Amtrak link

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The last article I read was that some construction was to start this year and that they still hoped to open in 2021. Has that been moved to the right? Or is it dead on the vine? I haven't heard much of anything in almost a year, not since the court decision that allowed them to exercise eminent domain.
 
I think they're talking completion around 2025. Barring delays...
 
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Yeah, that shifted to the right by about 4 years. And I think the articles I read were from early 2017 so they weren't that old. Unrealistic, maybe, but not that old.

The rollback on timing is unfortunate.

But it makes Brightline look all the better, though having the FECI/Fortress in place as a property developer and railway is kind of like an unfair advantage Brightline has over just about everyone else.
 
Ziv said:
The last article I read was that some construction was to start this year and that they still hoped to open in 2021. Has that been moved to the right? Or is it dead on the vine? I haven't heard much of anything in almost a year, not since the court decision that allowed them to exercise eminent domain.
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Current plan rolls it about a year to the right. They are waiting for the FRA to approve the final EIS. So they're saying construction can start in early 2018, finishing in 2022. So this does seem really early to start making agreements with Amtrak.
 
While this route will certainly be good in terms of getting between Dallas and Houston, the benefit to Amtrak passengers seems minimal. For passengers coming from Chicago/St. Louis on the Texas Eagle and wanting to get to Houston, the current Thruway bus connection from Longview down to Houston will still be faster than staying on the Eagle all the way to Dallas and then getting on the bullet train to go to Houston. (Yes, it's more train time, but a longer elapsed travel time is hardly an improvement).

If the Heartland Flyer went to Dallas, then it would be a natural connection for OKC to Houston traffic. But it doesn't, so it isn't.

Of course, this would be a natural connection for Dallas-New Orleans travelers, if you ignore the fact that the bullet train station in Houston is going to be outside the 610 beltway, thus requiring a lengthy shuttle bus ride to the Amtrak station, where the train only departs three times a week anyhow.
 
The Dallas station is expected to be near Union Station, so it would be expected for a connector to transition the 1/4 - 1/3 mile separation. In Houston, being at the I-10/610 intersection, a bus connector would be required to get to downtown Houston.

It appears that this train plans to be separate from other transportation, like those that find a better deal to fly in the other city, they still have the issue of getting to the airport.
 
They discussed the old Dallas-Houston leg of the TE in the link... "Amtrak has not operated service between Dallas and Houston since 1995 when a leg of the Chicago-to-San Antonio/Los Angeles Texas Eagle route was discontinued. "

I always talk about the lack of daily CHI-PHL service, Houston hasn't had rail service to Chicago since then nor service to Dallas since then and all they had to do to keep it running was run a through branch a length of 264 miles (if the split was in DAL).

http://timetables.org/full.php?group=19950611n&item=0031

Texas Central can't get here soon enough. Same with California High Speed Rail. We know we can't count on Amtrak for any meaningful expansion of rail service between any large cities.
 
It is too bad that the stop can't be at Union Station, or does "near" mean possibly at the other end of the platform? That is probably wishful thinking on my part. Union Station has tons of transportation links, Amtrak of course, cafes nearby, security plus some sort of waiting room I would imagine. Union Station is the downtown stop that Houston wishes it could have. I have read that the Texas Central Dallas stop is going to be in the Cedars, but that is a fairly large area.

Is the Dallas stop going to be on the Amtrak "mainline", on the Dart Red/Blue Line, or is it going to have its own right of way? Sorry for the basic question but I haven't read which it is going to be,

Lonestar648 said:
The Dallas station is expected to be near Union Station, so it would be expected for a connector to transition the 1/4 - 1/3 mile separation. In Houston, being at the I-10/610 intersection, a bus connector would be required to get to downtown Houston.

It appears that this train plans to be separate from other transportation, like those that find a better deal to fly in the other city, they still have the issue of getting to the airport.
Click to expand...
 
The Dallas station will be on the other side of the highway. (Old information subject to correction.). While there is light rail at the Amtrak station the main connection is a few block away.

In short nobody is willing to spend a huge amount of funds for a truly interconnected transportation. So to switch modes your walking. Or grab one of the rent a bike to ride.

The question is will the Bullet trains have a short cut to leave and cross the highway or is it a round about way to downtown area? Do hate walking forever when you can see your destination but have to walk away from, so you can get there. (Denver Heavy Rail I am talking to you.)
 
Ziv said:
It is too bad that the stop can't be at Union Station, or does "near" mean possibly at the other end of the platform? That is probably wishful thinking on my part. Union Station has tons of transportation links, Amtrak of course, cafes nearby, security plus some sort of waiting room I would imagine. Union Station is the downtown stop that Houston wishes it could have. I have read that the Texas Central Dallas stop is going to be in the Cedars, but that is a fairly large area.

Is the Dallas stop going to be on the Amtrak "mainline", on the Dart Red/Blue Line, or is it going to have its own right of way? Sorry for the basic question but I haven't read which it is going to be,

Lonestar648 said:
The Dallas station is expected to be near Union Station, so it would be expected for a connector to transition the 1/4 - 1/3 mile separation. In Houston, being at the I-10/610 intersection, a bus connector would be required to get to downtown Houston.

It appears that this train plans to be separate from other transportation, like those that find a better deal to fly in the other city, they still have the issue of getting to the airport.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The stop in Dallas is going to be within walking distance from Union Station but it will be an entirely separate station.
 
Thanks for sharing, Just Thinking and Brian! I have been googling the station and the most recent info I can find is relatively new, from February of this year and it says that it is going to be south of the Kaye Bailey Hutchison building and between South Riverfront Boulevard and Austin Street. I google mapped it for walking and from the center of Riverfront it is 1.3 miles to the Union Station entrance. Austin Street is a bit closer to Union Station if this is accurate, so maybe there will be an exit from the new Texas Central Station there.

So close, but not really that far, unless you are carrying luggage, or it is noon in August... ;-)

https://www.railwaypro.com/wp/texas-central-identifies-dallas-station-location/

Just-Thinking-51 said:
The Dallas station will be on the other side of the highway. (Old information subject to correction.). While there is light rail at the Amtrak station the main connection is a few block away.

In short nobody is willing to spend a huge amount of funds for a truly interconnected transportation. So to switch modes your walking. Or grab one of the rent a bike to ride.

The question is will the Bullet trains have a short cut to leave and cross the highway or is it a round about way to downtown area? Do hate walking forever when you can see your destination but have to walk away from, so you can get there. (Denver Heavy Rail I am talking to you.)
Click to expand...
 
Either the freeway separates or Reunion Arena, neither are convenient to Union Station if you have luggage. They say pricing will be comparable to inexpensive airfare, so they expect to eliminate over 14,000 cars per day going between Dallas and Houston. Could make things even crazier in DT Dallas. Got a long wait to see how it works out. The earliest construction by Bechtel will start is 2019.
 

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