On August 12, 2015 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued the Corridor Alternatives Analysis Technical Report, which analyzes four possible corridors for Texas Central Railway’s (TCR) proposed high-speed rail project. Unfortunately, the report provides little insight on the real impact the high-speed rail project would have on Houston neighborhoods.
While two of the corridors running through Houston neighborhoods – the BNSF line along 34th Street and the UPRR line in the Washington Corridor – appear to have been eliminated from consideration, the report leaves many concerns:
- The Utility Corridor (the only alternative to make it through FRA’s screening process) ends in Hockley. From Hockley to Houston, this routing alternative would follow the UPRR (rail) corridor.
- The report indicates that portions of the BNSF, UPRR and I-45 Greenfield corridors may be further investigated in the event there are constraints in the Utility Corridor that would require an alternative to be developed.
- The report fails to address the question of where the Houston station would be located (downtown or outside the 610 Loop).
Ultimately, the report leaves the door open for potential routes through Houston neighborhoods. Findings in the report relate mostly to the path that would be taken through rural counties between Dallas and Houston.
View the full report and potential corridor map here.
The FRA’s next step will be to evaluate the range of alignments within the Utility Corridor and identify alternatives in more detail.
Your Houston High-Speed Rail Watch will keep you posted.
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Houston High-Speed Rail Watch