Yucca do, how old are you? I think Houaton stopped street car service around 1940

Yeah, I remember 'the tracks'. Sorry. I'm 61. Seems like there were still a coupla trolleys running when I was little. I could be fabricating memories at this point....**** happens.

You know, the older I get, the better I was?

No worries. I was just interested if I was wrong about when I thought they stopped running the trains.

Yuccadoo
I'll be right there with you.

Me too. Not only do I remember the tracks in Houston, I can recall looking at the skyline and seeing the Gulf Building as the tallest skyscraper in the city. That was in 1942!

Thread bump.

So I know that the routes have supposedly been narrowed down to two that align with existing rail or utility corridors, but I found an August vintage article that says:

quote:

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The Commission for High-Speed Rail in Dallas/Fort Worth voted unanimously to seek federal funding for a study of a route to Austin, according to the newspaper.

That line would be separate from theentirely private high-speed rail that's being developed to go from Dallas to Houston. That 200 mph train is being proposed by Texas Central Railway and now includes plans for a stop near Texas A&M University, officials confirmed at the meeting. An environmental study is underway now and the train could be operating by 2021.

"The Houston-to-Dallas connection is going to happen," Ted Houghton, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, told the Star-Telegram. "It will have one stop, in College Station. It will be just east of Highway 6."

The Japanese-built train would likely stop in downtown Dallas, possibly at the existing Union Station before heading south to Bryan-College Station and Houston.

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Source

Did anyone happen to go to the meeting that was held in town a couple of months back? I wonder if the routes as outlined might shift a little bit to include a stop a couple miles out of town. I don't know if there's enough growth in the area to warrant the action, but there's definitely the political heft to get it done and the whole university/city have been aggressive in capitalizing on new developments.

Ah... found an answer I think...

quote:

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"This can be a transformational technology that just brings us all closer together," said Robert Eckels, who is the President of Texas Central High Speed Railway and a former Harris County Judge.

He says after looking at nine potential routes, it's likely the railway would run 15 to 20 miles east of Bryan-College Station.

"We would be serving this community through a shuttle service until in the long term when there could be direct train service into the community," he explained.
...
During public comments College Station Mayor Pro-Tem Karl Mooney encouraged developers to bring the trains through B/CS.

Brazos County Judge Duane Peters says the idea would be a big benefit.

"If we can get a stop close enough to Bryan / College Station that you know we could have a shuttle or whatever go over, it's great news," said Peters
...
A final route is expected to be decided by next fall.

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LINK

quote:

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He says after looking at nine potential routes, it's likely the railway would run 15 to 20 miles east of Bryan-College Station.

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The problem with this option is that the line would have to cross Grimes County at some point. Grimes County officials have voted to pass a resolution to keep the rail from going through Shiro. Could that be expanded to include the entire county? Or does passing the resolution even matter?

quote:

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But Grimes County officials and residents are hoping to derail the project and keep it out of their backyard.
On paper- the idea to build a High speed Rail from Houston to Dallas may sound like a great idea.
But the reality of it speeding through Grimes county does not sit well with residents and county officials.
Grimes county officials voted unanimously Wednesday morning to pass a resolution to oppose one proposal for a high speed rail line that would pass through Shiro.
Grimes County Judge Ben Leman says,"The big concerns we have are the financial viability of this project is one of them- it's promoted private enterprise."
....
County Judge Leman says residents have told him they just don't want to see a high speed rail line splitting up their farm and ranch land.
"This would require entirely new land use, they won't use existing rail road tracks easement but a new one."
In a statement from the Texas Central Railway...
They said "we are listening carefully to their concerns of the residents of Grime County.
We respect the Grimes County Commissioners' viewpoints.
Our commitment from the inception of this project is to reduce adverse impacts of the project as much as possible and treat landowners and communities fairly and with respect.

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LINK

Grimes County Map

I was under the impression the only thing the resolution does is prevent public funds from being spent on the rail.

quote:

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I was under the impression the only thing the resolution does is prevent public funds from being spent on the rail.

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Could be.

Thanks for bumping. I had been following the train idea since we moved here in 2007 and there was an article in a BCS area magazine. When I looked into it early last year, there were talks of combining with Oklahoma to eventually have the train go up to Oklahoma City from Dallas, with little trains in-between Dallas and Ft Worth. You might try and google that if you are interested.

According to the Texas Tribune, it looks like the French are going to play a major role in this. Mon dieu!

I look for this to get built right after the Millican reservoir.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/20150206-bullet-train-developer-ids-possible-dallas-station-sites-partners-with-matthews-southwest.ece

The two sites under consideration for the Dallas end of the rail line were announced earlier today. The folks doing the project are still saying there will be a station in Shiro because of proximity to Bryan/College Station and Huntsville.

TCR announced the utility corridor for the chosen alignment.

Just now?

Earlier today, yes.

quote:

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The private company developing a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston told federal officials today it wants to focus on just one possible route.

Texas Central Railway is recommending building the line on what's called "the utility corridor," which is the orange line on the map. That route includes a large amount of right of way already being used for utilities throughout the state. It was also focusing on aroute alongside freight lines.

As WFAA-TV's Tanya Eiserer has reported, rural Texans have opposed the project because they fear it will cut off farms, communities and transportation while providing little benefits since there may be no more than one stop (College Station-ish) between Dallas and Houston. The train would get people from Dallas to Houston (or vice versa, of course) in 90 minutes. Tickets are estimated to cost roughly 70-80 percent of a regional flight between the same cities.

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Source

Looks like the it will cross highway 30 around Roans Prairie. That's about 20 miles from the HEB in South College Station or 25 miles from campus.

Would that actually be useful? Are they going to rent cars out there or have a shuttle to BCS?

They've stated they wouldn't be funding a line to B/CS, but that a shuttle service could pick up folks. I would bet an entrepreneur could open a car rental lot.

Given that the transit time from Houston to Dallas would be less than 90 minutes (its actually closer to 70 without the intermittent stop, and not every train would stop), I'm willing to bet that Dallas to the College Station Stop would be closer to about 50 minutes. So roughly one hour plus a thirty minute shuttle rid to campus means the commute time from downtown Dallas is cut from 3.5 hours to 90 minutes.

I'd do it.

Folks could take an Uber car from their house to the train stop.

Cars, houses and trains.

quote:

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Looks like the it will cross highway 30 around Roans Prairie. That's about 20 miles from the HEB in South College Station or 25 miles from campus.

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That is about the distance from the Denver International airport to downtown Denver. Just saying.

Hell, they can't even get the "Aggie Expressway" built through Grimes County! How they gonna get some damn Japanese train through there?