Bullet Train

High-speed train between Houston and Dallas signs up more landowners

The high-speed train keeps inching along.

Photo courtesy of JR Central

Texas Central, developers of the high-speed train between Dallas and Houston, has now signed deals for about 30 percent of the parcels of land it needs to get this thing rolling.

Texas Central CEO Carlos Aguilar calls it a significant milestone, the result of ongoing negotiations with property owners along the potential route.

The high-speed train will connect North Texas, the Brazos Valley, and Houston in a 90-minute trip.

Option agreements have been made in all 10 counties between the two stops, including 50 percent of the parcels for the proposed route in Waller and Grimes counties. Grimes County will be the site of a Brazos Valley passenger station, a midway stop on the 240-mile line between the state’s top metro areas.

Texas Central's option program compensates owners today in exchange for the right to acquire a parcel at a future date at an agreed price. The option offers are being made in select areas of alignments that are under review as part of the project’s environmental assessment.

"This is a significant step in the progress of the high-speed train and it reflects the positive dialogue we have had with landowners along the route," Aguilar says in a release.

Chris Lippincott, a representative from Texas Rail Advocates, says that the agreements are a victory for transparency.

"The announcement of land agreements in Waller and Grimes counties are particularly laudable considering the intensity of the campaign of misinformation aimed at the residents of those communities," he says in a statement. "Texas Rail Advocates will continue to support open, honest dialogue as our state moves toward a future that includes the option of high-speed train service for business and vacation travelers."

Texas Central has hosted 28 information meetings throughout the 10 counties. More than 3,000 families and businesses signed letters giving surveyors access as part of the environmental assessment.

Some landowners fought against providing access to surveying. Texas Central has withdrawn the remaining 17 cases to allow it to work with all landowners on an amicable approach for permission to survey.

The start date for train service has been pushed back a year, to 2023, according to reports.

transportation

GDP Growth

CEO magazine names Texas 'best state for business' for the 22nd year

Aerial view of skyline downtown Houston and highway traffic at buffalo bayou park, Houston, Texas, USA

Getty Images

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The Texas business sector recently received a double dose of good news.

For the 22nd consecutive year, Chief Executive magazine named Texas the best state for business. In tandem with that achievement, preliminary new estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show the size of Texas’ economy jumped to $2.9 trillion in 2025, up by a nation-leading growth rate of 2.5 percent compared with the previous year.

Speaking about the Chief Executive honor, Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas benefits from pro-growth policies, a strong workforce, strategic investments in education, training for high-demand skills and the presence of critical infrastructure.

“Texas is where businesses innovate and where opportunity abounds. … We will continue to move at the speed of business as we build a more prosperous Texas for generations to come,” the governor says.

An annual Chief Executive survey of CEOs, presidents and business owners determines which state is the best for business. Texas has landed at No. 1 every year since Chief Executive launched the ranking.

“Truly, this is an incredible run that Texas has going,” says Christopher Chalk, publisher of Chief Executive. “CEOs are a tough group to please, and yet year after year Texas continues to earn the top spot—no small feat.”

It’s also no small feat for a state to notch annual gains in its gross domestic product (GDP), a measurement of economic power based on the value of goods and services produced each year.

With an estimated GDP of $2.9 trillion last year, Texas maintains its position as the eighth-largest global economy compared with the nations of the world, based on preliminary estimates from the International Monetary Fund.

In reference to Texas’ GDP growth, Abbott says the Lone Star State is “the premier destination for job creators from across the country and world. We will keep attracting world-class investment, create jobs, and expand opportunity for Texans for generations to come.”

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This article first appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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