Hard to say how much effect this will have.
The planned high-speed rail project from Houston to Dallas hit a big obstacle last week in rural Leon County when a judge there declared the project’s backers did not have authority to force landowners to sell or provide access to properties.
Opponents of the rail project on Monday cheered the ruling as a death knell for the line — albeit one that will take years to savor and finalize.
“This project cannot be finished without eminent domain and the project is completely off track,” said Blake Beckham, the Dallas lawyer who has represented opponents of the Texas Central Railway project.
Company officials said Monday many of the opponents’ claims and the significance of the ruling were exaggerated.
“Texas Central is appealing the Leon County judge’s decision and, meanwhile, it is moving forward on all aspects of the train project,” the company said in a statement.
The heart of many of the legal fights, and Monday’s decision, center on whether the company is, in fact, a railroad. Backers since 2014 have insisted the project — using Japanese bullet trains to connect Houston and Dallas via 90-minute trips as 220 mph — is a railroad and entitled to access to property to conduct surveys and acquire property via eminent domain.
“Texas has long allowed survey access by railroads like Texas Central, pipelines, electrical lines and other industries that provide for a public good and a strong economy,” the company said.
Opponents have insisted that since the company does not operate as a railroad, owns no trains and has not laid a single piece of track. it is not eligible for the access.
“Simply self-declaring that you are a railroad … does not make it so,” said Kyle Workman, one of the founders of Texans Against High-Speed Rail.
Judge Deborah Evans of the 87th District Court agreed, issuing an order Friday that found Texas Central and another company it formed “are not a railroad or interurban electric company.”
[…]
The ruling covers Freestone, Leon, and Limestone counties where the line is planned.
In previous court cases related to land access in Harris County and Ellis County, the company has been denied access or dropped its request in the face of mounting questions from the court or opponents.
“They have lost every single legal interaction,” Beckham said.
Texas Central disputed that in a statement.
“A judge in Ellis County said trials should be held on survey cases for three local property owners,” the company said. “The judge did not rule on the merits of those cases, instead only saying they should proceed to trial.”
See here and here for some background. We’re still very early in the legal process, with some procedural rulings but nothing decided on the merits yet. It will be years before the courts sort it all out, and nothing will be settled until the Supreme Court weighs in. In the meantime, there will be further attempts by members of the Lege to put roadblocks in Texas Central’s way. KUHF has more.
Same basic problem with acquisition of land that they have in California.
You need a straight line to go 300 mph, can’t hit a curve at that speed and expect to stay on the rails.
In Texas Central’s April 2016 filing with the STB they say “Petitioners currently anticipate that construction will begin in 2017. Petitioners plan to initiate passenger service as early as late 2021. The total cost of civil construction and the core system is estimated to be over $10 billion, ”
So even without this latest ruling, Texas Central is behind. They keep saying they will begin construction this year (2019) but the FRA says the ROD won’t be complete until March 2020 (this date was published before the 35 day government shutdown).
The December 2017 DEIS says the cost will be between $15 and $18 billion dollars, 50% to 80% more than the $10 billion in the STB filing (yes, I know it said over $10 billion).
So years behind schedule and billions over the 2016 estimate. Before the Leon County ruling.
Also the timeline to build has expanded from 4 years to 5.5 years, which would put completion at fall of 2025 if the ROD is issued in March of 2020, if Texas Central gets eminent domain powers and can acquire the land, and if construction is on schedule.
So already 4 years behind the 2016 plan.