An $18 billion high-speed rail system, built by a Japanese company, could transform transportation in the Lone Star State. Video by Patrick Gleason, Sohail Al-Jamea and Gordon Dickson Star-Telegram.com
By Gordon Dickson
FERRIS
As far as David Risinger Sr. is concerned, just because a company calls itself a railroad doesn’t make it one.
Especially, he said, when the company in question, Texas Central Railroad and Infrastructure Inc., didn’t exist until 2012 — and to this day owns no depots, locomotives, tracks or ties.
That’s why when Risinger, who owns a 220-acre farm near Ferris — about 25 miles south of downtown Dallas — was contacted by a land consultant representing the high-speed rail company who was seeking permission to enter his property for a survey, he refused.
Texas Central Railroad and Infrastructure, which is trying to buy up land for a proposed high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston, then filed a lawsuit alleging that Risinger, 81, had no right to stand in the way of the project.
That lawsuit and more than 30 others filed in counties up and down the corridor are the latest in a series of legal moves that have raised eyebrows along the proposed Texas Central Railway route....
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/traffic/your-commute/article102316272.html#storylink=cpy
So, the story I heard goes like this: "The idea has been around for a while – but it seemed so ridiculous that I thought it would just fade away. Not so – they are out there trying to buy the land right now (of course, “buying” is not exactly what the company has in mind – they have some rigmarole figured out that would let them take the land and pay later.) There is no plan to pay for any necessary road alterations – the many county roads that provide access to rural homes would require changes – a high speed train cannot use the flashing lights used at normal railroad crossings. High speed trains require clear tracks all the way; so local roads would have to be rerouted – at local county expense (and of course, how to reroute is an unanswered question.)
Part of the deal is, apparently, to allow Japan to get rid of its current high speed train by giving it to this project, and permit Japan to upgrade to an even faster, better high speed train. It appears that the money and impetus for a Texas high speed train originated in Japan."
@Bigun, I think this might go real close to you. I know it will go close to me.
