Imagining a trip from Houston to Dallas in under two hours while still at ground level is hard for some to do. It may soon become reality, however, if a new private-sector endeavor is successful.

Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels (pictured) spoke to the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce mobility committee about a possible high-speed rail line between the two metropolitan areas on Oct. 11.

“It would take less than 90 minutes to go from one downtown to the other,” Eckels said.

Eckels, now the President of Lone Star High-Speed Rail LLC (LSHSR), envisions a rail system funded entirely by private dollars, with little or no government interference.

“It will have a minimal impact on the state budget,” he said. “We think we can do this privately, faster and better.”

The train project is a partnership between LSHSR and U.S. Japan High-Speed Rail. The Central Japan Railway is also on board, having been the company that designed and created the high-speed train that will be used. The train travels at a maximum speed of 215 miles per hour and will hold six to eight passenger cars.

“It’s a real smooth ride,” said Eckels. “You can’t tell the difference between that and traveling at just 65 (mph) on the interstate.”

The project is currently in the engineering and route planning stages. Eckels said several routes are under consideration, including the SH 249 corridor. The planning stage will ultimately come down to where current right-of-way exists in order to minimize cost and burdens.

Eckels said there are many advantages to having a high-speed rail service, including less delays, faster travel times, security and environmental. Studies show that one in five airline flights are delayed by an average of 57 minutes due to several factors including weather. Eckels said that the average delay with high-speed rail service is a mere 30 seconds.

Safety and security are two other benefits to the service, according to Eckels.

“You can’t hijack a train and turn it into a Sept. 11 type of scenario,” he said.

Eckels also added that the rail service has 1/12 the carbon footprint of an airliner.

Eckels said the biggest hurdle for the project is financing. Most of the funding will come through partnerships and through the private-sector in Japan. The estimated cost is $6-10 billion.

“No where has there been a truly private rail system built,” Eckels said. “But in being private we also have more flexibility.”

Eckels informed the committee that they are looking into planned stops possibly in College Station, Tomball or somewhere near FM 2920 and either the Beltway 8 or I-610 area.

Eckels said the group hopes to have the project completed by 2020.

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