The last time I took a train in Texas was when I was 5 years old and my Mother and I travelled from Austin to San Antonio to meet my Dad while my sisters were at summer camp in Kerrville.  I loved it and it never occurred to me that I would not ride on another train until I was in college on the east coast.  Incredibly, there has been no direct passenger rail service between Dallas and Houston for almost 20 years.  And if you want to travel that route by rail, it might seem like it takes 20 years.  In reality, it only takes 20 hours with an overnight stop in San Antonio.  Which is fine if you haven’t already been to the Alamo 63 times and you really like the split pea soup at Schilo’s.  For anyone who actually wants to get from one city to another it is a complete non-starter.  The average European must think that it is insane that two major urban centers that are only 250 miles apart are not connected by  a reasonably fast and reliable rail link.  Well, that may change.  Yet another company is attempting to get into the high-speed rail business in Texas.  And in only a decade or so, we might have the first high speed rail line connecting H-Town to Big D.  Make it so.

http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/texas/2014/10/30/texas-bullet-train-gaining-traction/18160333/

Map released by Federal Railroad Administration (who knew there was such an animal) and the Texas Department of Transportation (formerly and more appropriately called the Texas Highway Department)