More than Twenty Bills Introduced in Texas Legislature to Stop High-Speed Rail

Jill Cowan, economics news reporter for Dallas News, reported that Texas Central Partners on Feb. 7 dropped "more than a dozen lawsuits against landowners who refused to allow the company on their property to survey." By doing so, it hopes "to negotiate with landowners more amicably

"Earlier this month, Texas Central announced about 30 percent of the parcels needed for the 240-mile project are covered under sale option agreements, meaning landowners have agreed to sell the land once the project has the necessary environmental clearances and is ready for construction," reports Dug Begley of the Houston Chronicle. 

The nation's 'other' high-speed rail project, now under construction for two years, has also been delayed by land acquisition issues in California's Central Valley. Tim Sheehan reported in April 2015 for the Fresno Bee on 50 eminent domain lawsuits filed in Fresno County against the California High-Speed Rail Authority and on a bill proposed to curb the use of eminent domain by the rail authority. 

Most high-speed rail litigation in California has involved the California Environmental Quality Act, unique to the Golden State, and issues pertaining to the Proposition 1A, the 2008, $9.95 billion general obligation bond measure that authorized the project.

While Republicans have introduced state legislation to challenge high-speed rail, their minority status and Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown's strong support for the project make their efforts difficult, but not so on a federal level.

Last month the state's GOP congressional delegation sent the Federal Transit Administration a letter asking they delay a vital decision on a $647 million grant to electrify the Caltrain commuter rail corridor between San Jose and San Francisco only because the tracks would be shared with high-speed rail. The FTA agreed, and now both projects are jeopardized.