Earlier this week, Federal officials revoked nearly $64 million in grant funding for the proposed bullet train between Dallas and Houston, citing out-of-control project costs.
Last year, as reported in The Dallas Express, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded $63.9 million to Amtrak under the Corridor Identification and Development Program, part of a larger $153 million funding initiative from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Now, after federal officials allege the project costs have skyrocketed by more than $10 billion, the FRA and Amtrak have agreed to cut the nearly $64 million grant.
“This project was originally announced as a purely private venture, but as the cost estimates dramatically ballooned, the Texas Central Railway proposal became dependent on Amtrak and federal dollars for development work,” reads an April 14 release from the Transportation Department.
According to the announcement, the project capital costs are now estimated to exceed $40 billion, up from the rail line’s earlier projected costs of $30 billion, an increase from an even earlier estimate of $12 billion.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said the FRA and Amtrak both agreed the funding represents “a waste of taxpayer funds and a distraction from Amtrak’s core mission of improving its existing subpar services.”
“The Texas Central Railway project was proposed as a private venture. If the private sector believes this project is feasible, they should carry the pre-construction work forward, rather than relying on Amtrak and the American taxpayer to bail them out. My department will continue to look for every opportunity to save federal dollars and prioritize efficiencies,” Duffy said in the statement.
The high-speed rail project has been in the works for years, with completion at the outset forecast for 2020. The initially privately led project, led by Texas Central Railway and later Amtrak, has seen costs surge since its inception. Texas Central told WFAA that the latest funding cut announcement “is good news for the overall project.”
“We are proud to have stepped in as the private sector sponsor of the Texas high-speed rail, and today’s announcement is good news for the overall project. The first Trump Administration gave this project the green light, but after President Trump left office, the project got hung up in the politics of the Biden Administration’s efforts to jam Amtrak and politics into the equation,” Texas Central said in a statement.
“We agree with Secretary Duffy that this project should be led by the private sector, and we will be proud to take it forward. This project is shovel-ready and will create significant new jobs and economic growth for Texas as part of President Trump’s efforts to boost the U.S. economy.”