Houston business community embraces PHSR while Dallas office opens for train operator
June 4th, 2016
Five Houston-area organizations have added their voices in support of Texas’ private high-speed rail (PHSR) project, recognizing it as a catalyst for economic development and an innovative alternative for Texans’ growing transportation demands.
The Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, theTransportation Advocacy Group- Houston Region, the Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership (BayTran) and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP) recently announced support for the high-speed train.
The train will join the two largest commercial centers in Texas, which represent half of the state’s population, and it will create tens of thousand of new jobs for Texans and stimulate local economic activity.
“Momentum continues to grow for the high-speed train, as more and more Texans learn about the important benefits of this transformational project. Texans want a choice for a quick and safe way to get between Houston and North Texas,” said Tim Keith, CEO of Texas Central, the private sector-led group developing the project.
Recently at the north end of the project the Dallas Morning News reported that the operator of a Japanese high-speed train line plans to open a Dallas office to support a local company’s plans for a controversial bullet train connecting North Texas and Houston. The Dallas Regional Chamber announced that Central Japan Railway Co. will station about 20 employees in Dallas.
Both are positive signs in a continuing battle with rural lawmakers who are trying to kill the high speed rail project from acquiring a 100-foot wide right of way mostly next to tall electric utility corridors along the line.
In their letter, the BayTran Board of Directors offered its “full support” for the project, saluting the project’s ability to “promote economic development in the region, enhance mobility and connectivity, and introduce innovative, state-of-the-art technology that is a safe, reliable, and efficient alternative.”
BayTran serves 100 members, representing cities, agencies and businesses in the Bay Area Houston region, which has more than 1 million residents.
Also from Houston’s Gulf Coast, the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership cited multiple benefits of the passenger line, calling it a “project of national importance.”
BAHEP’s president, Bob Mitchell, said the organization decided to embrace PHSR because “this privately backed project is a win-win situation for Texas and its rapidly growing population.”
The BAHEP encompasses 13 communities and two counties within the Houston area and is home to over 14,000 businesses representing several major Texas industries, including aerospace, chemical, healthcare, maritime and tourism. The BAHEP includes among its forward-looking goals “the economic development needs of today, tomorrow and of future generations.”
Showing the wide geographic support for high-speed rail, the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber and the Greater Tomball Area Chamber also passed declarations reflecting support for the project from Northwest Harris County.
Leadership from the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber, comprised of more than 600 Northwest Houston-area members, noted that the “business community is increasingly seeing the need for a transportation solution of this magnitude between the two economic hubs.”
It also praises the Texas Central solution for “being developed by a Texans-led, Texas-based private company employing a market-led approach.”
The Tomball Area Chamber said in its resolution that the project “provides an alternative to additional taxpayer-funded construction and reduces carbon emissions.”
The organization “supports the proposed Texas Central High-Speed Rail Project for both mobility and economic development.”
Finally, a fifth organization reiterated its support for the railway as an alternative to meet the state’s transportation needs.
The Transportation Advocacy Group – Houston Region (TAG), which represents more than 150 individuals from local businesses, nonprofits and special purpose districts, said it “fully supports the proposed high-speed rail project” and that “this project is good for Texas.”
These actions are the latest signs of the growing public support for the project. These groups join other organizations that have endorsed the project, including the North Houston Association and the American Society of Civil Engineers Texas Section.
TIM KEITH—CEO of Texas Central
“Texas Central values our partnership with key economic development organizations like the Cy-Fair Chamber, Tomball Chamber, TAG, BayTran and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. These organizations understand better than anyone that a strong and growing economy, supported by first-class transportation infrastructure, is crucial to the success of an entire region like the Houston Gulf Coast. We look forward to working with these dynamic organizations to bring the first high-speed train in the country to residents throughout Southeast Texas,”
The Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, theTransportation Advocacy Group- Houston Region, the Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership (BayTran) and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP) recently announced support for the high-speed train.
The train will join the two largest commercial centers in Texas, which represent half of the state’s population, and it will create tens of thousand of new jobs for Texans and stimulate local economic activity.
“Momentum continues to grow for the high-speed train, as more and more Texans learn about the important benefits of this transformational project. Texans want a choice for a quick and safe way to get between Houston and North Texas,” said Tim Keith, CEO of Texas Central, the private sector-led group developing the project.
Recently at the north end of the project the Dallas Morning News reported that the operator of a Japanese high-speed train line plans to open a Dallas office to support a local company’s plans for a controversial bullet train connecting North Texas and Houston. The Dallas Regional Chamber announced that Central Japan Railway Co. will station about 20 employees in Dallas.
Both are positive signs in a continuing battle with rural lawmakers who are trying to kill the high speed rail project from acquiring a 100-foot wide right of way mostly next to tall electric utility corridors along the line.
In their letter, the BayTran Board of Directors offered its “full support” for the project, saluting the project’s ability to “promote economic development in the region, enhance mobility and connectivity, and introduce innovative, state-of-the-art technology that is a safe, reliable, and efficient alternative.”
BayTran serves 100 members, representing cities, agencies and businesses in the Bay Area Houston region, which has more than 1 million residents.
Also from Houston’s Gulf Coast, the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership cited multiple benefits of the passenger line, calling it a “project of national importance.”
BAHEP’s president, Bob Mitchell, said the organization decided to embrace PHSR because “this privately backed project is a win-win situation for Texas and its rapidly growing population.”
The BAHEP encompasses 13 communities and two counties within the Houston area and is home to over 14,000 businesses representing several major Texas industries, including aerospace, chemical, healthcare, maritime and tourism. The BAHEP includes among its forward-looking goals “the economic development needs of today, tomorrow and of future generations.”
Showing the wide geographic support for high-speed rail, the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber and the Greater Tomball Area Chamber also passed declarations reflecting support for the project from Northwest Harris County.
Leadership from the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber, comprised of more than 600 Northwest Houston-area members, noted that the “business community is increasingly seeing the need for a transportation solution of this magnitude between the two economic hubs.”
It also praises the Texas Central solution for “being developed by a Texans-led, Texas-based private company employing a market-led approach.”
The Tomball Area Chamber said in its resolution that the project “provides an alternative to additional taxpayer-funded construction and reduces carbon emissions.”
The organization “supports the proposed Texas Central High-Speed Rail Project for both mobility and economic development.”
Finally, a fifth organization reiterated its support for the railway as an alternative to meet the state’s transportation needs.
The Transportation Advocacy Group – Houston Region (TAG), which represents more than 150 individuals from local businesses, nonprofits and special purpose districts, said it “fully supports the proposed high-speed rail project” and that “this project is good for Texas.”
These actions are the latest signs of the growing public support for the project. These groups join other organizations that have endorsed the project, including the North Houston Association and the American Society of Civil Engineers Texas Section.
TIM KEITH—CEO of Texas Central
“Texas Central values our partnership with key economic development organizations like the Cy-Fair Chamber, Tomball Chamber, TAG, BayTran and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. These organizations understand better than anyone that a strong and growing economy, supported by first-class transportation infrastructure, is crucial to the success of an entire region like the Houston Gulf Coast. We look forward to working with these dynamic organizations to bring the first high-speed train in the country to residents throughout Southeast Texas,”