The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved paying a consulting firm nearly $567,000 to analyze the economic impact that high-speed rail lines to Houston and Fort Worth could have on the region.
The one-year contract with Boston Consulting Group was reached at the request of council made in March after some members raised questions about the need for a second rail line from Dallas to Fort Worth. Council members passed a resolution in June opposing a planned seven-story downtown transportation line, saying they might reconsider the issue after receiving the results of an economic impact study.
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The preferred route was changed over the summer to include downtown after council members worried the train would otherwise derail plans for a new $3 billion convention center and other multibillion-dollar redevelopment projects near Reunion Tower.
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City officials estimated it could take about three months to complete the study.
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Meanwhile, work is expected to continue on a plan to build a $30 billion Dallas-to-Houston bullet train and a separate $6 billion Dallas-to-Fort Worth line.
Amtrak is committed to developing a southern line to Houston and the North Central Texas Council of Governments as part of its second project studies. Regional transportation officials hope that if the two projects go ahead, they will eventually be combined.
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The Western Line is undergoing environmental review and has scheduled stops in Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth. This missile is expected to carry 15,000 to 30,000 passengers per day and travel between the two ends in less than 30 minutes. Another commuter rail line, the Trinity Railway Express, already runs between Dallas and Fort Worth, and a trip between the two cities can take at least an hour.
The high-speed rail line from Dallas to Fort Worth is expected to ease highway congestion for the metro area’s 8 million residents. This number is expected to increase to over 11 million by 2045.
Last month, Amtrak received nearly $64 million in federal grant money to continue planning a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. Officials believe the line will transport passengers between the two cities in about 90 minutes at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.