U.S. Department of Transportation pulls funding for Texas high speed rail project - NBCDFW

[TexasTowelie]

U.S. Department of Transportation has pulled federal funding for a high-speed bullet train between Dallas and Houston that would allow riders to make the trip in 90 minutes."

[Initech]

1. Fuck this worthless fucking administration!

[progree]

2. The $64.9 million it pulled was a planning grant. Expected to cost $30 billion to $40 billion to construct

Last edited Tue Apr 15, 2025, 02:53 PM - Edit history (2)

The $30 billion is a recent figure, but the Dept of Transportation today says "north of" $40 billion.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dallas-houston+bullet+train+how+much+will+it+cost

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https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/transportation/2025/02/27/514960/houston-dallas-train-amtrak-delivery-partner-high-speed-rail/

Some excerpts: Up to 205 mph. Would take 90 minutes. Between Dallas and Houston. "Currently, it takes 3 hours or more to travel from Houston to Dallas by car or truck. Nonstop flights between the cities take approximately one hour and 15 minutes." (plus have to get to and from the airport, be 1 1/2 hours early, etc. -progree)

EDITED TO ADD - Greyhound says it takes 3 hours 35 minutes on their bus and that it is 224 miles. Several other bus companies similarly. Who knows how many stops in between (important for people living in between). But anyway, that's 2 hours more than a 90-minute bullet train. Four hours more for a round trip. /EDIT

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IMHO, there are public transit systems that could benefit a lot more people with a fraction of this kind of money to improve their systems. (I am a transit-dependent person). But alas, the money isn't going to get re-apportioned to anything useful and helpful, just tax cuts.