Texas high-speed rail update on Dallas-Fort Worth route

The future of Dallas’s high‑speed rail project was thrown into doubt after Dallas slammed the brakes on elevated tracks just as Congress stripped nearly a billion dollars in federal rail funding.

Newsweek reached out to Texas Central, the developer of the Dallas-Houston bullet train, via a contact form on the High-Speed Rail Alliance’s website to ask what the Dallas City Council’s decision means for the project.

Why It Matters

Dallas’ decision to reaffirm its ban on elevated high‑speed rail through core parts of the city comes at a moment of heightened uncertainty for the entire project. 

With Congress defunding $928 million in high‑speed rail grants and legal and logistical barriers mounting, the viability of a Dallas-Fort Worth high‑speed connection—and its integration with the planned Houston-Dallas route—faces new challenges.

What To Know

Dallas City Council last week reaffirmed its 2024 decision that no high‑speed rail line between Dallas and Fort Worth should be built above‑ground through the Central Business District, Victory Park, or Uptown. 

It follows Congress’ recent elimination of hundreds of millions of dollars in high‑speed rail funding, a blow noted by Council Member Paul Ridley, as reported by The Texan.

The city’s stance could reshape long‑term mobility planning across North Texas and determine whether high‑speed rail has a future in the region.

The renewed resolution comes as the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) considers how to apply a $500,000 corridor identification grant approved by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2023. 

Dallas supports the use of this grant only if the study includes the city‑proposed alignments introduced in June 2024—when the council “paused” the project over concerns about NCTCOG’s recommended above‑grade alignment along Interstate 30 east of Arlington.

That original alignment was designed to create potential connections to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, and nearby hotels. 

A proposed western alignment under discussion would not allow those linkages.

NCTCOG transportation director Michael Morris has emphasized that the Dallas high‑speed rail station cannot be relocated without jeopardizing the entire Houston-Dallas segment due to environmental approvals finalized in 2020.

Separately, a 2024 Dallas economic impact study assessed three possible rail alignments—including a tunnel under existing infrastructure and a route linking Dallas-Fort Worth and Love Field airports. 

It estimated that a Houston-Dallas line would cost $30 billion, while a Dallas-Fort Worth extension would require another $6 billion. 

The Houston-Dallas corridor was projected to generate $5 billion in annual gross domestic product growth and create 28,300 jobs in Dallas County.

However, the same study noted that upgrading the existing Trinity Railway Express (TRE) could provide either a temporary or long‑term alternative for enhanced Dallas-Fort Worth connectivity at a far lower cost—roughly $1 billion—leading the council to urge NCTCOG to consider TRE upgrades in place of pursuing a new high‑speed line.

The proposed western alignment faces strong opposition from Hunt Realty Investments, which argues the route is “legally precluded” under a 1975 master agreement with the City of Dallas. 

Hunt is planning a 20‑acre, $5-billion development near Reunion Tower and has repeatedly warned that certain rail alignments could adversely affect the project.

Hunt’s attorneys have also pointed to claims—based on NCTCOG personnel and reports—that the TRE could be upgraded to deliver a 35‑minute travel time, an outcome they argue would serve as a cheaper and viable alternative to high‑speed rail.

What People Are Saying

Noting that the location and design of the Dallas high-speed rail station were already locked in by a 2020 environmental study, NCTCOG transportation director Michael Morris said: “If that station changes, then the Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail investment is dead.”

An impact study conducted by Dallas said upgrading the TRE commuter rail “could provide a temporary or long-term solution for enhanced Dallas-Fort Worth connectivity.”

Speaking about a recently passed spending deal, Dallas District 14 Council Member Paul Ridley said at Wednesday’s meeting, per KERA News: “It is important because it sets parameters for such rail development should it ever come to pass, which at this time seems problematic in light of Congress just this week reaching a deal to defund $928 million in high-speed rail grants.” 

Dallas Council Member Cara Mendelsohn told the NCTCOG board: “We have to do projects that are a win for everybody, and downtown Fort Worth and Arlington do not get below-grade treatment, and Dallas gets seven stories up.”

Texas Central told Newsweek in June: “No other state can match Texas’ healthy, ‘can-do’ business environment—or better understands how to meet the needs of its people. The project will improve mobility and safety for Texans, create significant new jobs, and accelerate economic growth in the Lone Star State.”

What Happens Next

NCTCOG’s Regional Transportation Council will determine how to proceed with the federal corridor identification grant and whether the city’s requested alignments can be meaningfully evaluated. 

Dallas’ insistence on avoiding elevated rail and its renewed interest in TRE modernization set the stage for a consequential round of regional negotiations.

Meanwhile, the combination of federal cuts, unresolved routing disputes, legal objections from major developers, and the city’s own economic findings means the path forward for a Dallas-Fort Worth high‑speed rail line remains uncertain—and may ultimately hinge on whether regional leaders choose to pursue full high‑speed service or shift toward improving the existing commuter rail backbone instead.

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