The Houston-to-Dallas bullet train project suffered a significant blow Monday as the federal government announced the abrupt termination of a planning grant for Amtrak — just seven months after it was awarded.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak, the national passenger railroad company of the United States, agreed to terminate the $63.9 million grant Amtrak was awarded last year to help move the project forward.
In a news release, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy called the high-speed rail project a "waste of taxpayer funds and a distraction from Amtrak's core mission of improving its existing subpar services." The total cost of constructing the railway is expected to exceed $40 billion, according to the transportation department.
"The Texas Central Railway project was proposed as a private venture," Duffy said. "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."
Earlier this year, Amtrak released a notice seeking a delivery partner for the proposed railway, which would use Japanese technology to transport passengers between Houston and Dallas in a matter of about 90 minutes.
The plan was hatched more than a decade ago by Texas Central, a private Dallas-based company that laid groundwork for the initiative but struggled to raise the needed funds. It also encountered pushback from rural landowners along the proposed 240-mile route.
Former President Joe Biden and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed joint support for the high-speed railway last year, as the plan has long called for utilizing Japan's Shinkansen technology.
The statement by Duffy, an appointee of President Donald Trump, represents a shift in priorities for the new administration in the U.S. The transportation department's news release noted that Amtrak received grants and "massive loans" under the previous administration in an attempt to spur construction.
"This arrangement is the antithesis to generating private investment in infrastructure because the American taxpayer ends up holding all the risk," the department wrote. "Walking away from the Texas Central Railway project at this time will allow Amtrak to focus on necessary improvements to deliver more reliability to its current riders."
The Federal Railroad Administration remains interested in rail projects, including high-speed rail initiatives, according to the transportation department. The approximately $60 million remaining from the now-terminated grant will be reallocated to other projects "that support safe, efficient, and reliable rail transportation," the department said.
"Connecting Dallas and Houston remains one of the more exciting opportunities for new passenger rail in the United States," said Kyle Fields, the chief counsel for the FRA. "Today's announcement reflects a recognition by Amtrak and FRA that federalizing the Texas Central Railway proposal is not the best use of taxpayer funding."
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