Continuing my series of SUPERTRAIN-funding-request posts, here’s the DMN transportation blog on the status of Texas’ request.
It took longer than I expected, but the Texas Department of Transportation has shared its preliminary application for its share of the $8 billion and change the federal government is handing out for high-speed passenger rail projects.
Texas wants more than $1.9 billion of the money, and has submitted more than a dozen projects as part of its “pre-application” — a required step that was due midnight Friday. Final requests, with update numbers, are due Aug. 24. (A press release with details of 18 projects for which Texas is seeking funds is available here: txdot preapplication 071309.pdf)
Texas is asking for $1.7 billion to speed development of a super-fast passenger train linking Dallas to Austin to San Antonio, and with a spur to Houston.
Federal guidelines for the funds make it unlikely that such a big amountwill be awarded to Texas, given how little preliminary work — such as environmental studies, feasibility reviews or right of way acquisition — has been done on the bullet train proposal. Still, TxDOT spokeswoman Karen Amacker said today, “it never hurts to ask,” and noted that the guidelines for the grants released in June are themselves in draft form.
No, it doesn’t hurt, and with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood saying that they’ll consider proposals that aren’t as far along as some others, who knows, we may get lucky. Here’s hoping. The DMN gave this an editorial nod on Friday, and the Transportation blog has more.
I keep wondering why they can’t run a loop:
Dallas : Fort Worth : Waco : Austin : San Antonio : Houston : Dallas
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