The fight continues over high speed rail service between Houston and Dallas, with a stop in Grimes County serving Bryan/College Station and Huntsville.
Expect groundbreaking on Texas Central’s project by the end of this year. That was part of a presentation composed by Brazos County commissioner Steve Aldrich for last week’s chamber of commerce economic outlook conference. Speaking for Aldrich, who was not able to attend, was the president of the Brazos Valley economic development corporation, Matt Prochaska.
From Washington, congressman Kevin Brady continues to oppose Texas Central’s attempt to obtain eminent domain power at the federal level. Brady, whose district includes much of the proposed route, says the Federal Railroad Administration will hold a public hearing at a rural location at a date and site to be determined.
News release from congressman Kevin Brady:
In a meeting in Washington, D.C., Texas Congressman Kevin Brady secured a commitment from Federal Railroad Administrator (FRA) Ronald Batory to hold a public hearing to seek landowners and local officials comments in the rural counties impacted by the proposed Texas High Speed Rail. The agency, which is drafting federal rules on safety and the environmental impact of the project, expects to announce in February the proposed rules and to begin to seek public comments.
Brady and Texas Congressman Ron Wright oppose the contentious high speed rail project, and are fighting Texas Central Railroad’s efforts to obtain eminent domain power from Washington to seize Texas landowners’ property without their consent.
Brady said he was encouraged by the meeting:
“All we want is for our rural voices to be heard. Administrator Batory is committed to reaching out beyond just Dallas and Houston to hear directly from our landowners and community leaders about the impact on our rural communities including safety worries, damage to our rural countryside, and documented questions about the financial shakiness of this controversial project.”
The FRA is expected to announce the public hearing sites and dates as the draft rules are announced.