Colin Allred Asks Sec. Buttigieg: How Seriously Is Your Agency Taking High-Speed Rail In Texas?

5 months ago

During a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) questioned Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about high-speed rail in Texas.

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Transcript

00:00The gentleman yields. The chair recognizes Mr. Allred for five minutes.

00:04Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Secretary, for joining us again. I

00:10appreciate your patience today. I want to thank you for your

00:16continued support in getting the IIJA funding out of DC and into our

00:21communities. This legislation has had a significant impact in North Texas and

00:26will continue to shape our community for years to come. In fact, you just mentioned

00:29low-emission buses. In June of last year, DART, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit

00:34Agency, received a $103 million federal transit grant to help us

00:38modernize our bus fleet. In March of this year, Southern Gateway Park and Clyde

00:44Warren Park and other North Texas projects received $80 million in funding

00:49from USDOT, thanks to grants as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law or the

00:54IIJA. One project that you and I have discussed several times in this setting

00:59that I'd like to highlight is Amtrak's partnership with Texas Central to

01:04develop a high-speed rail connecting Dallas and Houston, two of the largest

01:09metropolitan areas in Texas and the country. In December of 2023, the project

01:14was awarded a $500,000 grant as part of the Corridor ID program, funded

01:20through the IIJA. And this public-private partnership, I think, is a great

01:24example of this administration's and our commitment to environmentally

01:29sustainable transportation while simultaneously supporting economic

01:33growth. And so, you talked a little bit about this when you were last in Dallas

01:37on TV, but here, could you just mention a little bit about how serious your agency

01:44is and you are about high-speed rail in Texas? Thank you. We are enthusiastic

01:49about the potential and the funding that comes with this Corridor ID

01:54designation is both direct funding for planning activities and a signal of the

02:02potential that we see. When you look across the geography of the United

02:06States, the best candidates for high-speed rail service are geographies

02:11where you have two major metropolitan areas that are fairly close to each

02:16other, but really a short flight that borders on the realm of impracticality

02:22or a long drive that also borders on the realm of impracticality. And creating

02:27that third option of a good high-speed ride can, we think, unlock enormous

02:32economic potential and, even for the people who don't use it, bring benefits

02:36in the form of reduced congestion on those roadways and those airports. So, we

02:41look forward to seeing this proposal continue to develop, and I would be

02:44surprised if it did not lead to more applications for support as the vision

02:50continues to take shape. I think that's right, and you mentioned, of course,

02:55reducing congestion. I have made that drive many times from Dallas and Houston.

02:59It's not an easy drive. The flight is not always the most convenient option. To me,

03:04this would just spur so much economic growth, and it's a common-sense idea, but

03:08there's also the technology involved in it that I just wanted to briefly

03:13discuss, which is, I think it's the Shinkansen bullet train, which is made in

03:18Japan. It's the world's safest transportation technology, really, in many

03:23ways, operating without a fatality since 1964. Can you speak about your experience

03:28with this technology? And I understand that you might have had a chance to

03:33ride on one of these. Yes, I had the privilege of riding on the Shinkansen

03:39train in Japan when I was attending the G7 meetings hosted by Japan last year

03:44for transportation ministers and my counterparts. It was an extraordinary

03:47experience, especially sitting up in in that cab where I had an opportunity to

03:51observe the operator and seeing the operations center behind the scenes

03:54where they conduct those safe and efficient operations. It is rare for them

03:59to be more than a few seconds at variance from their published schedule,

04:03and as you mentioned, in a technology and a train going back to the 60s, they have

04:08an unbelievable safety record, too. I think any American who sees that comes

04:12home and says, why can't we have something like this? And I think that's

04:14the kind of quality and the kind of efficiency that we should aspire to here

04:18in the U.S. I am convinced that if we get one of these lines in Texas, we will

04:22get more. We are a perfect candidate for this. And really quickly, in the last

04:2730 seconds I have here, I just want to commend you. As the father of two small

04:32kids, I know you're a growing family, and to highlight the fact that passengers

04:38will no longer have to pay more to sit next to their their kids on flights. To

04:43me, this is just a common sense, but it's the kind of thing that really can make

04:47an impact in people's lives, and I think it's it's an example of your leadership.

04:51And at some point in our next discussion, I'd love to talk to you about our air

04:56traffic controllers and how this FAA bill is going to help us restore that

05:00workforce. But with that, I'll yield back. Thank you.

Colin Allred Asks Sec. Buttigieg: How Seriously Is Your Agency Taking High-Speed Rail In Texas?

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