Following the visit of the Japanese chief executive to the White House, both Japan and the United States appear to have reaffirmed their support for the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail project.
The White House released a fact sheet Wednesday after President Joe Biden welcomed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The two leaders confirmed or reaffirmed several “political understandings” on a number of issues, from defense and security to economic cooperation, diplomacy and development.
But ahead of the meeting, Reuters reported that Biden was seeking to revive interest in the multibillion-dollar project. Three sources familiar with the summit's preparations told the outlet that the Texas Central project will be on the agenda.
A fact sheet after the meeting said the U.S. Department of Transportation and Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism welcomed Amtrak's leadership of the project.
“Upon successful completion of development efforts and other requirements, this project will be eligible for future financing and financing opportunities,” White House officials said in a fact sheet.
Editorial: High-speed rail: We should go full steam ahead from Dallas to Houston
The proposal, which aims to shuttle passengers from Dallas to Houston and back in about 90 minutes, has been in development for a decade. The proposed 320-mile drive between stations will take at least three and a half hours. Japan has a stake in the project because Texas Central is partnering with Japan Central Railway, which owns and operates the country's bullet trains.
(Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer)
It has gained momentum in recent months after Amtrak announced in August that it was exploring a partnership with Texas Central for the route. With Amtrak's involvement, the project was awarded $500,000 in planning and development funding from the Corridor Specific Development Program, which was created after the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021.
Andy Byford, Amtrak's senior vice president of high-speed rail development, said in a statement regarding the news: “We are deeply committed to the bilateral emphasis on this innovative project that will connect Dallas and Houston, Texas, by high-speed rail. I support it.'' “Amtrak continues to advance design and project development activities as part of FRA.” [Federal Railroad Administration’s] Corridor identification and development programs. ”
Texas Central's plan is to utilize bullet train technology based on the Shinkansen system, which would primarily travel along high-voltage power lines and stop in the Brazos Valley between College Station and Huntsville.
The Japanese government also invested money in this project. In 2018, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation signed an agreement to provide Texas Central with a $300 million loan. In a news release at the time, the bank stated that the loan is “expected to contribute to maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese companies.”
The Japan Overseas Transport and Urban Development Projects Corporation (JOIN) also joined the agreement. According to the company's website, the majority of its shareholders are the Japanese government.
It is unclear whether JBIC will continue to be the lead investor or whether JOIN will shoulder the bulk of the financing. According to JOIN's investment portfolio, the company's largest investment is approximately $165 million (25.3 billion Japanese yen).
Michael Bui, CEO of Texas Central and managing director of FTI Consulting, said in a note to investors Wednesday that the Japanese and U.S. governments have agreed to a JOIN and a transaction framework for Amtrak to move forward with rail development. He noted that an agreement in principle had been reached. project.
“The purpose of this framework is to define a path forward for joint U.S.-Japan efforts to build this project,” Bui wrote, noting that Texas Central is not yet a party to the framework and discussions are ongoing. He pointed out that.
Amtrak officials were not immediately available to comment on the proposed agreement. One of the biggest hurdles will be finding the financing to make the corridor a reality, as building it could cost tens of billions of dollars. The project's schedule also remains unclear.
This project has several important wins that will propel it forward. The Federal Railroad Administration approved the project in 2020 by issuing an environmental statement and a Record of Decision formally selecting the corridor alignment. The Texas Supreme Court also ruled in 2022 that the company can use prominent land to acquire land for bullet trains.
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas) said in a post on ” he said.
Dallas and Fort Worth planners ultimately hope to create a high-speed rail corridor that would transport travelers from Fort Worth to Dallas and from Dallas to Houston in less than two hours in a single-person ride.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments is leading the study of the Fort Worth-Dallas corridor and was able to formally begin the federal environmental review phase in March. The corridor also received a $500,000 grant from the Corridor ID Grant Program.
Dallas City Council members have questioned the need for a road connecting the two cities through Arlington.
In a recent interview with WFAA-TV (Channel 8), U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the state's geography makes it one of the best candidates in the country for projects like Texas Central. Told.
“We're funding some of that planning work because we think it can and should become a reality,” he said.
