HIGH SPEED RAIL FIGHT NOT OVER

ENNIS – Everyone thought Texans High-Speed Rail was a thing of the past until recently.

Texans Against High-Speed Rail held a meeting Sept. 14 in Ennis.  An estimated 100 people turned out to hear how AMTRAK desires to team up with the failed Texas Central project – a long-planned, extremely controversial 236-mile high-speed rail line. 

NCTCOG and Houston COG are both interested in developing the rail line in the Houston to Dallas corridor. 

AMTRAK, founded in 1971, is expected to receive $66 billion from a recent $555 billion infrastructure  bill sent to Joe Biden to quickly sign. If passed, the money would push forward AMTRAK’s 15-year strategy to expand service around the northeast plus expand service for up to 160 new communities.

A proposed project of such a size has been said would be detrimental to so many rural private property land owners, farmers, ranchers, cities and emergency responders, if ever completed. 

What was originally proposed as a private business adventure has now turned into AMTRAK considering  seeking federal funds and eminent domaining many tracts of land from Harris to Dallas county.