The Texas Department of Transportation is launching a two-year feasibility study of high-speed passenger rail service between South Texas and Oklahoma City, according to the
San Antonio Express-News.
The study, at a cost $14 million, will examine possible ways to connect the state's major cities in a bid to reduce traffic. It also will outline possible mechanisms for funding the proposal, including a public-private partnership.
Jennifer Moczygemba, the rail system section director for the transportation department, said the study would also address "improved Amtrak service and anything in between."
Amtrak trains in Texas currently travel no faster than 79 miles per hour. But adding newer high-speed capacity railway lines would accommodate speeds of more than 120 mph.
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