HIGH SPEED RAILWAY BEING CONSIDERED IN BRAZOS VALLEY

  

More than a dozen Brazos Valley residents provided comments and questions about two proposed high speed rail 240 mile route recently unveiled by Texas Central Railway, a private company developing the project. 

The idea is gaining attention in College Station and the surrounding area due to the number of Texas A&M students who live in College Station, but call Dallas or Houston home. 

The high speed train is expected to transport people between the two major cities in 90 minutes, and, depending on how quickly funding can be obtained and approved by the federal government, the high speed train could be a reality by 2021. 

The purpose of Monday’s meeting was to get public feeding and develop an environment feedback to be used by the Federal Railroad Administration to be used by the officials of the administration to decide whether to approve the project.

Part of the 240-mile track could pass through the Grimes, Washington, and Brazos counties. The closest stop to the Brazos Valley would be in Grimes County near Shiro, and the other route would be along major utility lines or BNSF Railway lines.  

Concerns from Brazos Valley residents include the accessibility of the rail line during an emergency, security issues, the rights of landowners, and the train’s effects on aging oil and gas lines.