AUSTIN, Texas — With the Texas legislative session starting in less than 50 days, one Texas lawmaker hopes a new bill will finally connect the state through a high-speed rail line.
Texas Rep. John Bucy, a Democrat who represents parts of North Austin and Williamson County, filed House Bill 483, which would propose an agreement between the Texas Department of Transportation and a private partner to create this rail line that would connect Dallas to Austin to San Antonio.
“Connecting these major hubs of the most trafficked road in the state of I-35 with another means to get up and down, it makes just a ton of sense,” Bucy said.
There is no direct funding attached to the bill to construct the high-speed rail, just an order for TxDOT to find a vendor to start construction on what Bucy says will be a long process.
Conversations about a rail line like this have emerged before, but nothing has ever come of it.
“You look at the 80s and 90s, Texas was a leader in infrastructure, especially road infrastructure,” Bucy said. “We've really lost our focus on doing that, and as Texas continues to grow, Texans are suffering for it.”
In addition to connecting these major business hubs and making commuting easier for those who work and live in two different Texas hubs, Bucy is hopeful the rail will lead to decreased crashes on the highway.
“What should be six hours round trip turns into seven, eight, nine because of all the traffic, all the construction and the projects that are constantly happening on I-35, and that's going to lead to tired, frustrated, distracted drivers,” Bucy said. “This would be a safe way to move people up and down I-35.”
Since filing the bill, Bucy said he’s been overwhelmed with support from commissioners and other Texas lawmakers wanting to make this high-speed rail happen. Now the major endorsement he’ll be looking for this upcoming January is Gov. Greg Abbott.
“If the governor got behind it as a leader in innovation with the state, having a high-speed rail would be a next big step in that,” Bucy said.
While Bucy said he doesn’t know if they’ll be able to get it done in one session, what he does know is that the enthusiasm for this bill has been high.
“Everyone seems to really believe that the I-35 corridor is so bogged down, and we need to connect this city so much that the excitement's been through the roof,” Bucy said.
Democratic Sen. Sarah Eckhardt has also filed an identical bill in the Senate for TxDOT to make an agreement to construct the rail line.
For this upcoming legislative session, Bucy also filed another bill that would allocate more money toward TxDOT's mobility projects instead of road projects.
