May 7, 2018 - TRA Newswire -
Texas Central has petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to reopen STB Docket 36025, which if approved, would give the builders of the bullet train project the authority to operate under broader federal law. Texas Central, in the filing that was obtained by Texas Rail Advocates, has asked that the case be reopened due to "substantially changed circumstances".
The STB has originally ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over Texas Central because the passenger railroad was only going to operate within the state and that Texas Central had not demonstrated sufficient "connections" to the national passenger rail network, to Amtrak in particular.
This past week Texas Central announced a joint ticketing agreement which would mean passengers need only buy one ticket to travel on either the bullet train or on Amtrak's national network. According to the filing "The Through Ticketing Agreement and Voluntary Coordination Agreement constitute a substantially changed circumstance that warrants reopening of this proceeding because an approval or exemption from the Board (STB) is now required to construct and operate the line".
If the STB reopens and approves the filing it would mean that opponents of the bullet train would have to take their objections to a federal agency. While there has been widespread support for the privately financed line to be built between Dallas and Houston, some landowners and politicians at the county and state level have repeatedly tried to kill the bullet train project through county and state legislation.
Holly Reed, Managing Director of External Affairs for Texas Central, wrote that "wouldn’t it be great to have the ability to purchase a single train ticket in North Texas and take an impromptu trip to JazzFest in New Orleans this weekend? Or for an energy corridor worker to travel between Oklahoma and Houston on a single ticket ride? Or for the mother of a Texas A&M student to seamlessly visit her child from her hometown of Alpine, Texas?"
Under the agreement signed last week, Texas Central and Amtrak would "provide for a variety of joint initiatives to promote and enhance through passenger travel on their respective lines", according to the filing. The original decision by the STB left open the door to revisit the jurisdictional issue "should Texas Central develop concrete plans."
The petition to reopen the STB filing can be found here: http://www.TexasRailAdvocates.org/docs/Texas_Central_STB_Docket_36025.pdf
Texas Central has petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to reopen STB Docket 36025, which if approved, would give the builders of the bullet train project the authority to operate under broader federal law. Texas Central, in the filing that was obtained by Texas Rail Advocates, has asked that the case be reopened due to "substantially changed circumstances".
The STB has originally ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over Texas Central because the passenger railroad was only going to operate within the state and that Texas Central had not demonstrated sufficient "connections" to the national passenger rail network, to Amtrak in particular.
This past week Texas Central announced a joint ticketing agreement which would mean passengers need only buy one ticket to travel on either the bullet train or on Amtrak's national network. According to the filing "The Through Ticketing Agreement and Voluntary Coordination Agreement constitute a substantially changed circumstance that warrants reopening of this proceeding because an approval or exemption from the Board (STB) is now required to construct and operate the line".
If the STB reopens and approves the filing it would mean that opponents of the bullet train would have to take their objections to a federal agency. While there has been widespread support for the privately financed line to be built between Dallas and Houston, some landowners and politicians at the county and state level have repeatedly tried to kill the bullet train project through county and state legislation.
Holly Reed, Managing Director of External Affairs for Texas Central, wrote that "wouldn’t it be great to have the ability to purchase a single train ticket in North Texas and take an impromptu trip to JazzFest in New Orleans this weekend? Or for an energy corridor worker to travel between Oklahoma and Houston on a single ticket ride? Or for the mother of a Texas A&M student to seamlessly visit her child from her hometown of Alpine, Texas?"
Under the agreement signed last week, Texas Central and Amtrak would "provide for a variety of joint initiatives to promote and enhance through passenger travel on their respective lines", according to the filing. The original decision by the STB left open the door to revisit the jurisdictional issue "should Texas Central develop concrete plans."
The petition to reopen the STB filing can be found here: http://www.TexasRailAdvocates.org/docs/Texas_Central_STB_Docket_36025.pdf