Fluor and Lane Construction are the companies that have now been chosen to work on the next phase of the high-speed rail line from Houston to Dallas known as Texas Central. Texas Central Partners announced on Monday the two companies had won the contract for the $12 billion project.
Texas Central has maintained throughout the last three years that all the funding will come from private sources and taxpayers will not be on the hook for any of it. The 240-mile high speed rail line will be able to take people from Dallas to Houston – and vice versa – in less than 90 minutes with trains leaving each city every 30 minutes during peak travel times.
Via BusinessWire:
Under the agreement, after the development phase and financial close, Fluor and Lane would be the preferred design-builder of the project.
“This underscores the attention the Texas Bullet Train has received from world-class firms, wanting to be part of a project that will revolutionize travel here and generate long-lasting local economic benefits,” Texas Central CEO Carlos Aguilar said.
“We are excited to partner with firms that have deep Texas roots. This is the latest in a long list of Texas-based companies helping build the train, including Freese & Nichols, Contract Land Staff and Survey And Mapping,” Aguilar said.
He said the investor-led project, which is not taking federal or state grants for its construction or operations, wanted a partnership familiar with Texas, focused on creating jobs and opportunities here.
“This will be America’s first true high-speed train and we are eager to be part of the next generation of sustainable infrastructure,” said Lane Construction President and CEO Robert E. Alger in this written statement. “This project will create benefits for generations to come while providing an innovative transportation alternative for Texas commuters.”
As Construction Citizen has noted, the potential use of eminent domain authority has been a concern for rural Texans who live between the two endpoints of the rail line. During the regular session of the Legislature in Austin, Texas Central Railway worked to ensure lawmakers didn't do anything to prevent the project from moving forward.
Texas Central Partners has worked to purchase real estate from landowners along the train's route rather than go through the eminent domain process.
