Northwest Mall Named Preferred Site As High-Speed Rail Station

HOUSTON, TX — Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and developers of the Texas Bullet Train announced Monday morning the preferred site of the new passenger station at the Northwest Mall, near the interchange of Interstate 610 and US 290.

The selection comes a little over a month after federal regulators released an environmental analysis that said the 200-mph, Houston-to-Dallas train would alleviate the strain on a crowded Interstate 45, greatly reducing traffic on that major thoroughfare. Turner added that the rail is beneficial to meet the needs of a growing region.

"Houston continues to grow. Growing the smart way includes providing a wider choice of transportation options beyond more private vehicles and more roads," Turner said. "The Texas Bullet Train fits the transportation paradigm shift I have called for. And now with a preferred location for the Houston station, we are one big step closer to boarding for an exciting trip to the Brazos Valley and on to Dallas."

The terminal will be located in a high-growth area, with easy access to employment centers, including the Galleria, the Energy Corridor, the medical centers, airports and downtown. The partners say the station not only will be a "catalyst for economic growth but it also will offer a convenient, efficient and direct network for passengers to and from local transit systems."

Turner said he expects construction to begin in 2019 and end "hopefully before we get our next Super Bowl."

Texas Central, an investor-owned project, says it will not take federal or state grants for construction or operations. Turner said the privately-funded project will nit cost the taxpayers, but rather the city will benefit from the sales tax — projected at $12 million a year.

Texas Central has reached an agreement with owners of the mall property, which will be repurposed as a train and transit hub, creating a robust market for new shops, restaurants, entertainment, hotels, condominiums and other development.

Texas Central released maps and conceptual renderings — final designs are pending — that show a multi-level station on a 45-acre site of the current Northwest Mall. It will link seamlessly with other forms of transportation, including proposed traveler-friendly connections with the greater Houston region.

Turner said it's about time to do something with the structure that's "sat dormant" for so long.

Houston business executive Drayton McLane Jr., chairman of the board of directors for Texas Central, said the company is looking forward to working with the city and the region on an innovative project that will help the economy, generate more local revenue and provide new job opportunities.

"As our state grows, we’re moving further apart as a result of travel time and increasing congestion. The Texas Bullet Train answers that. This will bring us closer together and fuel a super economy that rivals any in the world," McLane said. "This is a new model for infrastructure improvements - it’s transformational. Everyone along the route will benefit. The entire state, and especially all the counties and communities along the route, will see gains. That includes getting more in tax revenue from the train and from ticket sales and more local jobs and business for those helping to build the project".

Jack Matthews, president of Matthews Southwest, will be developing the station project.

"We look forward to helping create a new community that will also bring a transportation asset to all Houstonians" Matthews said. "We are excited to work in an area with so much potential for vibrancy, including transit-oriented development.”

Federal regulators, in their environmental report, cited the Houston station’s many economic benefits, including an increase in property values within a half-mile of the terminal as a result of the train project. That’s in addition to new and related transit-oriented development in the area.

“The impact to property tax revenue would be beneficial for all local jurisdictions,” the FRA said. “These additional resources would benefit schools, libraries, parks, municipal utilities, hospitals and emergency services that are funded through property taxes.”

The FRA report says the train’s preferred route mostly runs along transmission lines in a utility corridor between North Texas and Houston, with a midway stop in the Brazos Valley to serve Huntsville, Bryan-College Station, Texas A&M University and others.

The report provides additional guidance as the project moves into its pre-construction phase, minimizing impacts on the environment and communities along the 240-mile path.

The project will create 10,000 jobs during each year of construction and about 1,500 full-time jobs when operations start.

High-speed rail developer Texas Central claims the bullet train is expected to remove 14,630 cars daily from Interstate 45, which will save 8.5 million gallons of gas a year. Texas Central also says the train will use the industry’s safest technology, "while I-45 is the second deadliest highway in America."

This comes on the heels of Sunday's fatal Amtrak crash in South Carolina that killed two and injured more than 100, and last Wednesday's Amtrak crash in Virginia carrying GOP lawmakers to a retreat that killed a passenger in a dump truck and injured several people on the train.

Texas Central announced in January its plans for the Brazos Valley station in the Grimes County town of Roans Prairie, which is really just an intersection of two highways located about halfway between Huntsville and College Station.

The high-speed rail project has been a bone of contention in the rural counties and property owners on the proposed rail route.

Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images