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  • High Speed Rail HSR (Houston - DFW Dallas Fort Worth) (FKA Texas Central )

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1527700  by Jeff Smith
 
More partners coming aboard: https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/spri ... 887532.php
The latest news in the project was the announcement of a new agreement with Mass. Electric, who will work with Texas Central to help install the electrical systems and equipment, including power, signaling and communications. This company is the latest of many partners to join the rail project, which plans to transport travelers between Houston and North Texas in 90 minutes, including a stop in the Bryan-College Station area.

Mass. Electric has completed numerous transportation projects nationwide, such as phase two of the Houston Light Rail project, the DART Green Line in Dallas and Union Station in Denver. The rail system itself will be based on a railway in Japan, the Shinkansen N700S train system.

“This project draws on our extensive experience in delivering high-quality rail systems safely and effectively,” Mass. Electric Project Director Mark Williams said in a news release. “We are excited to play a key role in the nation’s first high-speed train project.”
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 #1530257  by ziggyzack1234
 
electricron wrote: Sat Jan 04, 2020 12:28 am On Texas Central's Twitter, they recently answered a tweet by the new mayor of Houston, stating construction to start Q3 of 2020. That certainly is not an official press release, but should we acknowledge the informal tweet?
https://twitter.com/TexasCentral/status ... 6170247171
In my opinion, while you don't get more official than press releases, the official Twitter isn't to be ignored. I think it's the official prediction, as the Record of Decision among other details has yet to be set in stone. Can't say for sure when dinner will be ready until all the ingredients have been accounted for.
 #1534507  by Pensyfan19
 
https://amp.rfi.fr/en/wires/20200220-re ... XOcsZ6Qlyc

RENFE to help construct the Texas Central Railway and operate it until 2042?!?!?! Does this mean that Texas Central Railway is open to franchising like Britain's private railways?!
 #1534511  by bostontrainguy
 
Pensyfan19 wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:15 pm https://amp.rfi.fr/en/wires/20200220-re ... XOcsZ6Qlyc

RENFE to help construct the Texas Central Railway and operate it until 2042?!?!?! Does this mean that Texas Central Railway is open to franchising like Britain's private railways?!
Funny. If you check out their website the train looks very Japanese.
https://www.texascentral.com/posts/mile ... eed-train/

Also, please note Amtrak . . . they are not forcing half of the passengers to ride backwards!!!
 #1534517  by Pensyfan19
 
bostontrainguy wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:28 pm
Pensyfan19 wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:15 pm https://amp.rfi.fr/en/wires/20200220-re ... XOcsZ6Qlyc

RENFE to help construct the Texas Central Railway and operate it until 2042?!?!?! Does this mean that Texas Central Railway is open to franchising like Britain's private railways?!
Funny. If you check out their website the train looks very Japanese.
https://www.texascentral.com/posts/mile ... eed-train/

Also, please note Amtrak . . . they are not forcing half of the passengers to ride backwards!!!
You can't assume that a company is Japanese based on the way their website looks! The best argument for Texas Central Railway being ran by JR would be a previous article or seeing how their stock is a Japanese high speed train.
 #1534539  by electricron
 
It does not matter what the train looks like. Amtrak's new railcars (Acela 2 by Alstom and new regionals by Siemens) are based upon European designs from France and Germany. Do you think Amtrak is a French or German company? Just because Texas Central is using a Japanese based design does not make it a Japanese company any more than Amtrak is a European company.

If you take the time and make any effort to visit and read Texas Central's web site, you would discover that it is an American based company collaborating with world wide leading corporations.
"Texas Central Names Bechtel Project Manager for Bullet Train. Bechtel is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. It is the largest construction company in the United States and the 11th-largest privately owned American company in 2018.

Texas Central names global railway company Renfe as its high-speed train operating partner. Renfe Operadorais the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company Adif.

Texas Central selects financial advisers Citi and MUFG for privately funded high-speed train project. Citi is is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City, is the third largest bank in the US, and MUFG is a Japanese bank holding and financial services company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, is the world's fifth largest bank by total assets and is one of the main companies of the Mitsubishi Group.

Texas Central Signs Design-Build Contract with Salini Impregilo to Build Texas High-Speed Train. Salini Impregilo is an Italian industrial group specialized in the construction and civil engineering business headquartered in Milan. It is one of the largest civil engineering contractors in the world, and its U.S. subsidiary is Lane Construction Corporation."

An important date approaching, as of November 10, 2018 the Federal permitting dashboard shows that the date for the Record of Decision is March 27, 2020. How important is a Record of Decision? A Record of Decision is the final step of the NEPA EIS process.
https://www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/ne ... ction.aspx
"An EIS is a full disclosure document that details the process through which a transportation project was developed, includes consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives, analyzes the potential impacts resulting from the alternatives, and demonstrates compliance with other applicable environmental laws and executive orders. The EIS process is completed in the following ordered steps: Notice of Intent (NOI), draft EIS, final EIS, and record of decision (ROD)."

After the ROD and required construction permits are issued, construction can start, assuming they have raised enough money to spend.
 #1534544  by eolesen
 
Pensyfan19 wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 9:13 pm You can't assume that a company is Japanese based on the way their website looks! The best argument for Texas Central Railway being ran by JR would be a previous article or seeing how their stock is a Japanese high speed train.
I'm guessing you're new at this.....

TCR has said since the beginning that they were planning to use Japanese technology and equipment. The agreement with RENFRE is new, which tells me either they had a better offer or the Japanese realized that this was a paper railway with little chance of being built.
 #1534563  by Pensyfan19
 
My bad. I used the wrong terminology. What I meant to say was that Texas central Railway IS an privately owned AMERICAN company (USA! USA! USA!) which is using Japanese rolling stock and hired a Japanese railway company (JR) and now a Spanish company (RENFE) to help with construction of the line. Also this is not like the California High Speed rail where politicians fighting over whether it should be built while billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted and nothing really gets done. TCR on the other hand is about to start construction for some of their stations, hired railway companies to carry out the construction for the line.

RESOURCES:
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/texas- ... -a-builder
https://www.enr.com/articles/47705-14b- ... lo-lane-jv
 #1534652  by RRspatch
 
eolesen wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:44 pm I’ll believe it when the first train arrives.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'll second that. Living in Texas (DFW area) I'll believe it when the first train departs from one end and arrives at the other end.
 #1535025  by charlesriverbranch
 
RRspatch wrote: Sat Feb 22, 2020 12:59 am I'll second that. Living in Texas (DFW area) I'll believe it when the first train departs from one end and arrives at the other end.
Well, there was that train that left Beaumont on September 8, 1900, and arrived at its destination, Port Bolivar, more than three years late: http://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhardt/ ... n-Ride.htm
 #1539198  by Jeff Smith
 
CommunityImpact.com: State legislators request federal officials halt activity on Texas Central's high-speed rail project
Dozens of elected officials representing Texas communities signed a letter April 6 requesting U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao put an end to activity related to Texas Central’s high-speed rail project between Dallas and Houston.

The letter comes about a week after Texas Central officials announced they were laying off 28 employees on March 27 “in an effort to make the best use of [their] current funding” in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

State senators and representatives in the letter said they do not believe Texas Central will be able to secure adequate funding for the construction of the project any time soon.

“It has become clear Texas Central Railroad simply does not have the financial resources required or expertise employed to continue with this project,” the letter read. “To proceed otherwise would be an inexcusable waste of taxpayer dollars and jeopardizes the integrity of the rules making process at the Federal Railroad Administration.”
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