A possible high-speed rail connecting Dallas and Fort Worth is again in the news.
In January, The Dallas Express reported on the possibility of a new high-speed rail station for Dallas, including connections to Fort Worth and Houston.
“High-speed rail was probably a pipe dream 20 years ago,” said Council Member Omar Narvaez (District 6), the chair of the Dallas City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “If it wasn’t for President Biden and [Transportation] Secretary Buttigieg, high-speed rail wouldn’t be even something that we’re thinking of right now because of the funding from the infrastructure act now putting Dallas’ station as the first and only station that’s been approved by the federal government.”
Last month, Michael Morris, the director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) presented a new western route that would bypass Downtown Dallas. The move is a result of the Dallas City Council’s continued hesitancy to approve the initial plan for the high-speed rail.
NBC 5 DFW reports on the NCTCOG’s consideration of an alternative route connecting Dallas and Fort Worth and Dallas officials’ desire for the train to be connected to the revamped Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Here’s the start of the story:
The regional planning body responsible for a proposed North Texas high-speed rail project will seek an additional $1.7 million for a consultant to study an alternative route connecting Dallas and Fort Worth.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments will present the increased budget for the rail study when the Regional Transportation Council meets Thursday in Arlington.
NCTCOG staff will present an updated alignment for the route that travels east from Fort Worth along Interstate 30 and around downtown Dallas to the southwest before connecting to an already federally approved high-speed rail station in The Cedars.
The Cedars rail station would serve as the connection for a long-proposed high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas, which would then connect to Fort Worth.
NCTCOG first presented the alternative route that loops around downtown Dallas to the RTC in July.
The Dallas City Council passed a unanimous resolution in June that stated the city would not support any new elevated rail lines through the city’s Central Business District until the completion of an economic study on the impact of high-speed rail on Dallas.