Free Republic

Driving down to Austin lately has become a real trip. I-35 is usually packed for most of the 185 miles, and what used to take three or four hours now can take five or six. Flying down can take almost as long, when you figure in airline security delays, more flight delays, and the time it takes getting into and out of crowded airports. But what if it took 45 minutes to travel from the Metroplex to Austin by train or an hour to make a trip to Houston? Advocates of high-speed rail lines are floating these ideas once again...

Could high-speed rail service with a stop in the Hillsboro area be a reality by 2020? That is the goal set by the Texas High-Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation (THSRTC) following the final planning and design charrette in Fort Worth. The charrette preceded the 10th annual Transportation Summit held in Irving Tuesday through Friday, August 7-10. THSRTC board members met in Houston in May at the Continental Airlines headquarters for the first of the charrettes. Attending were eight international suppliers of high-speed rail for nine different systems in France, Germany, Korea and Spain. In addition, 14 consulting firms of varying...

Traffic: Can't live with it; can't live without it. That's the dilemma Dallas leaders face as they survey the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, Gov. Rick Perry's plan for a new network of highways crisscrossing the state to be built as toll roads by private companies. Dallas' interstates are choked with traffic, but if Mr. Perry diverts that traffic – especially the long-haul commercial trucks – beyond the city limits, he will siphon off the city's economic lifeblood. No wonder city leaders are squawking over preliminary maps that show the new corridor being located as far as 50 miles from Dallas' doorstep....