July 22, 2025 - Dallasnews.com -

John Kleinheinz is the chief executive of Kleinheinz Capital Partners, the leading investor of Texas Central, the company behind the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail project.

In an Op-Ed published in the Dallas Morning News, Kleinheinz said:

If you need proof that our state is a wonderful place to live, work and play, take a look at the rapid population increase Texas continues to experience. U.S. Census Bureau figures show that half of that growth is a result of people moving here from other places. And with all the advantages Texas offers, why wouldn’t they?

We’re a welcoming state but also a realistic one. We know Texas needs significant infrastructure to support growth, keep people moving and ensure that commerce keeps flowing.

About 50% of Texans live in or near Dallas and Houston, two principal business hubs that benefit everyone in our state. Now is the time for Texans everywhere to recognize the promise and practicality of high-speed rail, resolve any remaining concerns, work out the final details, and support what will arguably be the most significant Lone Star infrastructure and mobility improvement we’ll see in our lifetimes.

It’s hard to argue against a train that can transport you from one of these cities to the other — 240 miles one way — in under 90 minutes. Compare that to sitting in traffic on Interstate 45, one of the most congested and dangerous highways in the country, or dealing with crowded airports, weather delays and rising airfares.

Greenlit by the first Trump administration, the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail project is now shovel-ready with a decade of pre-construction work completed at no cost to taxpayers, including initial permitting and land acquisition. The project is a model for sustainable infrastructure: It will reduce highway congestion and emissions while delivering thousands of construction and long-term operations jobs.

A recent Boston Consulting Group study confirms that Texans are overwhelmingly in favor of the project. President Donald Trump has communicated clear support for a high-speed route with a build-out plan that stays on time and on track. High-speed rail makes sense in Texas and, when done right, across the United States as we embark on this new American era of big thinking and “big, beautiful projects” championed by the Trump administration. In 2024, Trump told Newsweek that it doesn’t make sense for America not to have high-speed rail and noted that the U.S. lags behind Japan, China and Europe in this area.

Texas Central fully supports the Trump administration’s decision to pull funding from Amtrak and agrees that this project should be led by the private sector. The next step is for local, state and federal leaders to work together and determine the mix of public-private funding that will see the project through to completion. Public-private funding solutions are viable and similar to those used in building the stadiums of America’s professional sports teams.

The money is there. It can come from the Jobs Act, via other relevant entities such as the Japanese, and of course through continued private backing. And Texas high-speed rail will rely on a user-pay model, which makes much more sense than solely depending on taxes to further highway expansion.

Look at the state and federally funded I-45 downtown Houston renovation, a 24-mile undertaking now estimated to require more than $13 billion in costs and 18 years to complete. In contrast, the entire Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail needs only seven years of construction, putting Texans on the fast track in record time.

I have been involved in this project for 10+ years and now, as the sole project sponsor, I believe more than ever that it’s time to finish the job — ideally starting with rerouting California’s federal rail funding to Texas, where we know how to stretch a dollar and efficiently manage a timeline.

Stalled for nearly two decades, California’s high-speed rail costs have skyrocketed from the original 2008 estimate of $33 billion to build the entire 500-mile Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line. Today, the reduced 100-mile segment proposed from Merced to Bakersfield, which will not connect major business or population hubs, carries a build-out estimate of $35 billion, coincidentally the cost to finish the Dallas-to-Houston route.

We can absolutely put the funds designated for California to better use here in the Lone Star State.

The future of high-speed rail across the U.S. can commence with this landmark project that, after 10 years of pre-construction progress and without a dime of federal funding spent to date, is ready to go. With the support of the Trump administration and collaboration from the world’s greatest engineering and infrastructure minds, groundbreaking is within easy reach. Innovation to bring high-speed rail to Texas and connect this major corridor is at the ready.

There’s never been a better time to invest in our country’s success. I’m calling for all parties to join Texans and the Trump administration in support. I have no doubt that this will be the first of many efficient, safe and cost-effective high-speed rail routes across our great nation.

John Kleinheinz is the chief executive of Fort-Worth based Kleinheinz Capital Partners, the leading investor of Texas Central, the company behind the high-speed rail project between Dallas and Houston.