Texas lawmakers envision high-speed rail along I-35 corridor in latest bill filings

Editor's note: The above video is KXAN coverage from Sept. 23, 2024, featuring Travis County and Bexar County lawmakers calling for high-speed rail funding in the 2025 Texas legislative session.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- High-speed rail could be coming full steam ahead to the Interstate 35 corridor amid new bill filings from Texas lawmakers pushing the initiative.

State Rep. John Bucy III (D-Austin) filed House Bill 483 on Nov. 12, which calls for allocations of state funding to support the development of high-speed rail linking Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.

In a statement to KXAN, Bucy said state leadership needs to explore more robust mobility opportunities, particularly as the state works to improve its infrastructure to accommodate surging growth. With I-35 a key economic hub connecting metros across the state, he prioritized this area as part of his legislative filing.

Texans and those visiting our great state deserve robust options for travel and commuting. The IH-35 corridor is a major hub for work and recreation, and it only makes sense that high speed rail is an option for this corridor. 

You could live and work in Dallas, go to a meeting in Austin, have dinner in San Antonio, and be home in time to put your kids to bed. All of that without having to sit in heavy traffic or go through airport security.

It’s time for Texas to lead once more on infrastructure, including on transit. Making Texas as good as its promise must include extensive and modern transit systems. 

State Rep. John Bucy III (D-Austin)

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) filed Nov. 21 an accompanying bill in the Texas Senate, Senate Bill 424. Both chambers' bills outline a proposed development agreement between the Texas Department of Transportation and a private partner to construct, maintain and operate the rail line. Each version of the bill defines "high-speed rail" as reaching minimum speeds of 110 miles per hour.

Bucy and Eckhardt aren't the only elected officials in favor of the proposal. Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai held a joint press conference in late September to discuss the Texas Passenger Rail Advisory Committee.

That committee is focused on petitioning for expanded rail funding in the upcoming legislative session, which kicks off in January.

If passed and signed into law, the I-35 rail corridor wouldn't be the first iteration of high-speed rail in development within the Lone Star State. Amtrak and Texas Central Partners are advancing the Dallas to Houston High Speed Rail Project, a 240-mile passenger route designed to transport riders between the two cities in less than 90 minutes.

However, there are already some lawmakers challenging the funding endeavor. Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) filed HB 1402 Nov. 19, which aims to prohibit spending public money "to pay for the alteration of a roadway related to high-speed rail construction."

His bill, if passed, wouldn't allow the Texas Legislature to appropriate money for the "cost of planning, facility construction or maintenance, or security for, promotion of, or operation of, high-speed rail operated by a private entity."

Each of the bill filings proposed an effective date of Sept. 1, 2025, should either iteration be passed by the legislature and signed into law.