Rail Passengers Urges Texas SC To Rule Quickly In Rail Case

For Immediate Release (22-08)
Contact: Madison Butler, mbutler@narprail.org

Rail Passengers Association Urges Texas Supreme Court To Rule Quickly In Rail Case

WASHINGTON -- Rail Passengers Association CEO Jim Mathews today urged the Texas Supreme Court to rule quickly and directly on legal challenges to Texas Central Railway's plans to link Dallas and Houston, saying that the Court's inexplicable delays in this case have imposed their own obstacles to the project's success.

"Under pressure from ceaseless and, frankly, baseless challenges to Texas Central's status as a railroad, the Texas Supreme Court re-opened what should have been a settled case early this year, effectively blocking a vital and beneficial project from moving forward," Mathews said. "Grandstanding by NIMBYs spreading misinformation and baffling legal delays are combining to scare off investors, drain cash reserves, and strangle Texas Central before it can even start. Every day's delay hamstrings this project further."

Rail Passengers continues to be dismayed to see this fight drag on given the degree to which Texas Central is trying to appease a small group of landowners. Moreover, this fight risks billions of dollars of economic growth, tens of thousands of jobs, and the potential to stimulate new travel not just on Texas Central but even on our publicly funded Amtrak network. The use of an endless series of lawsuits to grind the approval process to a crawl is, ultimately, the same as giving veto power over all new development to anyone who can front the legal fees—and it’s why the U.S. isn’t able to build ambitious infrastructure anymore.

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About Rail Passengers Association

The Rail Passengers Association is the oldest and largest national organization serving as a voice for the more than 40 million rail passengers in the U.S. Our mission is to improve and expand conventional intercity and regional passenger train services, support higher speed rail initiatives, increase connectivity among all forms of transportation and ensure safety for our country's trains and passengers. All of this makes communities safer, more accessible and more productive, improving the lives of everyone who lives, works and plays in towns all across America.