A few days ago I undersold the Texas Central Amtrak Collaboration. This has basically saved the Texas Project from collapse and has the potential to radically reshape both Trxas and the Amtrak system. It is the first time Amtrak has Collaborated with a private company jointly to run a line instead of the state, and it will be the first fully high-speed rail project in the history of Amtrak.
This has also angered the Nimbys who killed the project previously because it apparently is a federal bail out that was planned from the start, which both A) makes no sense, and B) is how Amtrak operates, Amtrak has at multiple points taken over the running of failed private trains like the auto train in the 80s and literally all of passenger rail in the 70s.
So what exactly is this collaboration, in short Amtrak is providing funds and is has jointly applied with Texas Central for government grants. Additionally as agreed in 2016, the ticketing will be done through Amtrak, and Amtrak will play a large role in the design work of the route. Basically think of it as a state supported route, but instead of a state, it’s a private company.
