Texas High-Speed Rail
LANE CONSTRUCTION SIGNS MEGA HIGH-SPEED RAIL CONTRACT WITH TEXAS CENTRAL
In July 2021, the Lane Construction Corporation and its parent company and joint-venture partner Webuild Group signed a contract with Texas Central LLC to build the first high-speed rail line in the United States, connecting the major cities of Houston and Dallas in under 90 minutes, and transforming Texas mobility with a sustainable solution.
Overview
THE PROJECT: THE MOST SUCCESSFUL RAILWAY NETWORKS IN THE WORLD
A high-speed train line – the first in the United States – to link two major cities, Houston and Dallas, in less than 90 minutes, reworking Texan mobility in a sustainable perspective.
Texas High Speed Rail will guarantee fast, safe and low environmental impact travel for 13 million people who today move between the two cities by car – the preferred means of transport by Americans for traveling through the Texan state – or by air.
Just like Madrid-Barcelona, Tokyo-Osaka or Paris-Lyon, the two cities Dallas and Houston are at the right distance to guarantee reduced travel times compared to car travel and at extremely competitive prices compared to air travel.
The railway, which will be 380 kilometres long, will transform mobility between two U.S. cities with strong population growth. The high-speed train will link Dallas and Houston in 90 minutes with a train every 30 minutes at peak times. There will be one stop in the Brazos Valley, where Texas A&M University is located. It is expected to be 90 minutes faster than car travel and one hour faster than air travel considering boarding times.
Dallas and Houston are respectively the fourth and fifth largest economies in the U.S, after New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The two metropolitan areas are amongst those with the highest population growth.
According to the US Census Bureau the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex registered one of the highest rates of population growth in the U.S. – 1 million from 2010 to 2018.
It is estimated that 6 million passengers in 2029 and 13 million in 2050 will use the high-speed train between Dallas and Houston.
The total investment for the Texas High Speed Rail is expected to be approximately $20 billion and represents one of the largest infrastructure contracts in the United States. Texas High Speed Rail LLC is the company created by Webuild and its U.S. subsidiary Lane Construction to build Texas High Speed Rail
ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENTAL
From an environmental point of view, the Dallas- Houston train is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 700,000 metric tons annually. The train is 6 times more energy efficient than the car and emits about 1/12 of the carbon dioxide of a Boeing 777-200.
From an economical point of view the high-speed train, will increase employment both in the construction phase and in the management phase for thousands of people.
THE HIGH-SPEED TRAIN WILL OFFER A NEW SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT ROUTE FOR OVER 13 MILLION TEXANS
Over 13 million Texan residents live less than an hour away from one of the three stations of the high-speed train. As many as 16 million trips are made each year between North Texas and the Houston area. These trips are expected to grow at a rate of 1.5% per year, almost doubling the national average.
About 90% of travelers currently travel by car, the rest by plane. According to the most complete and recent study, 72% of travelers said that if the high-speed train were an option, they would already “certainly” or “probably” use it today.
The new railway line will therefore have a great impact in terms of decongesting Interstate 45, one of the busiest arteries in the US, which – with the train operating – will have about 14,630 less vehicles per day traveling along it.
Currently, to cover the distance between Houston and Dallas, considering the traffic jams, it often takes over four hours: a time that, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, is destined to expand, exceeding six hours, by 2040. This is a huge problem also from an environmental point of view due to the ever-increasing CO2 emissions.
The Lane Construction Corporation is one of America’s leading construction companies, specializing in large, complex civil infrastructure. For 135 years, it has contributed to the development of the country’s transportation systems including the Interstate Highway System and a vast network of roads, bridges, airports, metros and railways. Lane specializes in mobility, tunneling, and water resources to address sustainable development and climate change adaptation challenges.
Lane has completed extensive mass transit works in the United States and is well-positioned through experience, reputation, and past performance to participate in the future growth of the rail, metro, and mass transit industry in the United States.
Lane’s track record includes 18,000 miles of highways, 179 miles of bridges, 87 miles of transit lines, 25 projects in the energy sector, 145 miles of roads, 103 miles of underground works and tunnels, and 103 airport runways and taxiways.
As a Group, Webuild has delivered iconic infrastructure projects such as the New York and San Francisco subways, the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge in California, and the Lake Mead hydraulic tunnel near Las Vegas. In 2021, it signed a contract to design and build America’s first high-speed rail line: the Texas High Speed Rail.
Texas High-Speed Rail Gallery