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By Theo Burman
Live News Reporter
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A Texas committee that convened Monday to discuss the prohibition of public funds for the state's high-speed rail project revealed new developments regarding the project's ownership and management.
Texas Central, the private company behind the proposed 240-mile rail line, confirmed during the House committee hearing that it is under new ownership and still has only one-quarter of the land it needs.
Newsweek contacted Texas Central and Judge Trey Duhon for comment via email.
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Why It Matters
The Houston-to-Dallas bullet train has been pitched for more than a decade as a transformative infrastructure project that could cut travel time between the two major metros to about 90 minutes. However, it has faced consistent resistance from landowners, lawmakers and local officials over eminent domain use, environmental concerns and the project's viability.
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What To Know
On Monday, Texas lawmakers discussed House Bill 1402, which would bar any state or local tax dollars from being used to alter roadways to make room for railway infrastructure.
Harris, the bill's author, introduced the legislation in light of Texas Central, the company responsible for the project's delivery, changing ownership.
Texas Central representative Andy Gent told lawmakers that the company is now led by Texas-based investor John Kleinheinz, replacing Japanese financial stakeholders.
"In January of this year, we bought the Japanese investors out of the project, including their debt," Gent testified. "They no longer have an interest in this."
Gent also said that Texas Central has acquired only 25 percent of the required 1,600 land parcels, including about 500 single-family homes, and that prior options on additional properties had expired.
Gent said the project is being reevaluated in collaboration with firms including Bechtel and Lane Construction and that the company is targeting federal grants made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
"The JOBS Act allocated $66 billion in federal grant money that can be available for projects of this nature," he said.
However, project critics said that the bill was necessary to protect public funds from being misused in the project.
"We will not hand over Texas taxpayer money or land for a project the voters did not choose," State Representative Cody Harris told Newsweek. "HB 1402 would prohibit the use of state and local funds for any high-speed rail project in Texas.
"In 2017, Texas Central Railroad asked cities and counties to agree to pay for maintenance on its proposed system, despite the fact they would not even pay property tax on land they acquired through eminent domain.
"This bill would help put an end to this deceptive and bloated plan that would leave Texas taxpayers shouldering the burden of a failing business," Harris said. "The need for the legislation was made clear once again in testimony this week when TCR's representative could not even provide a budget estimate or answer direct questions about its plans—both short and long term."
What People Are Saying
Waller County Judge Trey Duhon, who spoke in favor of the legislation: "HB 1402 by Chairman Harris will protect state money and ensure that public funds throughout the state are safeguarded from being wasted on a washed up, overhyped, underfunded bait and switch high-speed rail project."
William Papadopoulos, a Texas real estate developer who spoke in favor of the bill: "For over 10 years, the proposed high-speed rail alignment has chilled the investment in and development of land along a 240-mile swath of Texas.
"This imaginary line on published maps has prevented us from developing our 993-acre property, where we aim to create jobs within a first-class business park for onshore industry and to grow the regional and state tax base."
What Happens Next
Texas Central is preparing to apply for federal grants, but its path forward remains uncertain as lawmakers deliberate HB 1402. The bill remains pending in committee.
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