L AY I N G D OWN T R A C K S
According to the Harris County Appraisal District, Texas Central has acquired 65.9 acres of land in Harris County along its proposed route, including its stations. Records show all property was acquired prior to 2021, when the Texas Supreme Court opted to rehear a case challenging the company’s eminent domain authority. SOURCES: HARRIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT, TEXAS CENTRAL, TEXAS SUPREME COURT, TEXANS AGAINST HIGH SPEED RAIL COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
HIGH SPEED RAIL PROPOSED ROUTE
Cypress
Dunham Pointe
The Texas Central high-speed rail is expected to travel between Houston and Dallas and cross through 10 counties.
The total 2022 appraised value of Texas Central’s acquired property in Cy-Fair is $12.4million .
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Jersey Village
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PROPOSED STATION In October, Texas Central investors announced two development companies would develop stations, including the Houston station near Hwy. 290 and Loop 610.
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Proposed railway route Acquired parcels
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ALL THE LIVE LONG YEARS
While construction has yet to begin, several announcements have followed Texas Central’s initial announcement about the proposed project in 2014. A lawsuit has progressed through the court system since 2016.
TEXAS CENTRAL
Jan.-Feb. 2018: Texas Central unveils planned Dallas station and selects location for Houston at Northwest Mall. May 2018: Amtrak and Texas Central agree to link Amtrak’s interstate passenger network.
Sept. 2019: Texas Central signs a design-build agreement with Italian construction rm Salini Impregilo. July 2020: The federal Surface Transportation Board rejects a petition from Texas Central to waive requirements for a construction permit. Sept. 2020: The Federal Railroad Administration completes its environmental impact review.
Jan. 2017: President Donald Trump’s administration lists the project as a priority. Feb. 2017: Texas Central reports 30% of land has been acquired for the full route. Dec. 2017: The Federal Railroad Administration sets a preferred route.
Oct. 2015: Texas Central identi es preferred route from
Houston with path alongside Hwy. 290 in Cy-Fair.
2015
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June 2021: The Texas Supreme Court declines to hear Miles’ case but grants a rehearing in October.
Jan. 2022: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments. June 2022: The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision before June.
May 2019: T exas Central appeals in the Texas 10th Court of Appeals. The case moves to the state’s 13th Court of Appeals.
March 2016: Leon County landowner James Miles les suit against Texas Central and wins a judgment ruling it is not a railroad company in trial court.
May 2020: The 13th Court of Appeals rules in favor of Texas Central, holding that it is a railroad company. Miles appeals.
COURT CHALLENGES
not just Dunham Pointe; it will also a ect neighboring communities such as Fair eld, Bridgeland and [Towne Lake]. We decided that [we’ve] already [built] our lives in the area, and we will handle whatever obsta- cles when the time comes,” Fang said. The high-speed rail project con- necting Dallas to Houston, which was announced in 2014, was set to begin construction in 2021, according to previous estimates from Texas Cen- tral from 2015. It will use a system modeled after Japanese Shinkansen bullet trains to transport passengers between the two cities in 90 minutes, according to Texas Central’s website. However, a lawsuit from a Leon County landowner made its way to the Texas Supreme Court, questioning CONTINUED FROM 1
Texas Central’s right to the power of eminent domain to condemn prop- erties. Texas Central has also faced questions about its ability to fund the $20 billion project. Christie Parker, a Harris County landowner and board member for the nonpro t Texans Against High-Speed Rail, said her personal experiences with Texas Central and its eminent domain authority made the project a non-starter for her. “We’ve worked with legitimate emi- nent domain from pipelines, gas trans- mission, you name it. We’ve never had an issuewith one of them,” Parker said. “It’s only been with Texas Central.” Texas Central o cials did not respond to questions or requests for interviews from Community Impact Newspaper by press time. Dunham
and Infrastructure,” according to the HCAD, with the majority of them located within the White Oak Falls subdivision near Hwy. 290 and Hwy. 6. These parcels were all acquired prior to 2021. Additionally, the Northwest Mall, which Texas Central previously announced as the site of its Hous- ton station, is registered under Cadiz Development LLC. In October, Cadiz Development was announced as one of the companies merging to form a separate company called Texas High- Speed Rail Station Development Corp. to build the railroad’s stations. The railroad’s planned route, according to its website, would pass through several Cy-Fair businesses and residential communities as well as near local schools.
Pointe developer NPH Development declined to comment. Property acquisition and process Fang said he had to sign a disclosure agreement during the homebuying process, acknowledging if the rail- road comes to fruition, there would be nothing Dunham Pointe’s builders and developers could do. “When we were going through the sales process, we asked the question to our builder, and the response was our guesses were as good as theirs,” Fang said. Texas Central has not yet acquired any property in the Dunham Pointe subdivision, according to the Har- ris County Appraisal District’s parcel viewer. Forty-two county parcels are registered to “Texas Central Railroad
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