Plans are reportedly being revived for a high-speed rail link utilizing Japanese trains running between Houston and Dallas.

President Joe Biden is reportedly seeking to revive a project that would construct a high-speed railway from Houston to Dallas in Texas utilizing Japanese bullet trains.

According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, citing unnamed administration sources, the White House is looking to make an announcement on the project following talks between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington, D.C., this week.

The Japanese government and the White House declined to comment on the report, though the project has seen renewed support from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who told KXAS in Fort Worth on Sunday: “We believe in this.”

  • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
    33·
    7 months ago

    I still think NYC-Chicago is the real test of high speed rail in this country. A route people want to take, that’s far enough to fly, between two cities where car ownership is optional.

    I’m glad Dallas-Houston is happening but I wonder how much traffic it will get. In my midwestern mind they’re both just “texas big city”

    • GamingChairModel@lemmy.world
      171·
      7 months ago

      It’s not surprising that the first city pair would be a commonly traveled route with cheap flat land in between. Once that’s demonstrated to work, they can start trying it for cities where the need to purchase rights for the route will be more expensive, and on terrain where long straight segments are more challenging to construct.

      I wonder how much traffic it will get.

      This source says average, about 24,000 people drive between the two cities any given day, and there are about 30 commercial flights per day between the cities. That sounds like a decent amount of potential demand.

      • Crikeste@lemm.ee
        91·
        7 months ago

        But how walkable are Dallas and Houston? I think the success of this is predicated on that, because if people can’t get around without a car, they’ll take one with them.

        Still though, pretty cool. Sucks it’ll be in Texas but progress is progress.

        • rhandyrhoads@lemmy.world
          5·
          7 months ago

          Depends on where you are, but with that 30 flight number there’s definitely plenty of people that aren’t bringing their cars with them.

        • GlendatheGayWitch@lemmy.world
          51·
          7 months ago

          Dallas proper has some light rail around downtown with a couple lines that travel outward, and even a train that goes from Downtown Dallas to downtown Fort Worth. It’s still difficult to get to a lot of places outside downtown, the American Airlines Center, and the State Fair ground though.

          Houston I think has some buses, but it would also be difficult to get too far from downtown.

      • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
        2·
        7 months ago

        Are those flights because of hub relationships? Where it will still be somehow cheaper to fly with a hop than to fly direct out of the hub?

        I once lived 1hr from an airport and 2hrs from a hub. It was always cheaper to drive to the closest airport and fly to the hub. Absolutely annoying.

        • GamingChairModel@lemmy.world
          1·
          7 months ago

          Yes, a big chunk of the flight demand probably comes from the fact that each is a hub for a major airline (American Airlines has its big hub in DFW, and United has one of its major hubs in IAH).

          Still there are a lot of flights between the two cities for passengers who are starting and stopping their journeys there.

    • Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      71·
      7 months ago

      I mean, getting out of Texas as fast as possible is an admirable goal for the future.

      Crossing the great emptiness of it is a great starting point. Like building a river backwards, starting with a delta at multiple cities.

    • Wogi@lemmy.world
      62·
      7 months ago

      So, let’s say such a train takes the same security as amtrack does, which is to say very little.

      If the train is a viable option it would need to compete on time but there’s a caveat. The flight between the two cities is 2 and a half hours. Not including getting to the airport early, going through security, and waiting for your flight. So we can reasonably say it’s 4 and a half hours of down time.

      The distance the train would travel is just over 700 miles. A 200 mile per hour bullet train at best possible speed does that in 4-5 hours. Assuming it’s express, and there are no delays.

      If the train is faster and similar in cost it’s a no brainer, take the train every time. If it’s more expensive, which is will be if it isn’t subsidized, then it won’t succeed. People will see the longer travel time and not consider security and waiting around, and just buy the cheaper ticket. Then curse ass spirit air gets them stuck on the tarmac.