The state of Texas will create a historic success for Italian engineering. This is the fast line that from 2026 will connect the cities of Dallas and Houston, 380 kilometers away, in less than 90 minutes: half the time required to travel by car and an hour less than a direct flight between the two cities, considering the boarding operations. The project was funded by the Italian group Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo) – and its US subsidiary Lane Construction – which signed the final $ 16 billion agreement.
The new train will have only one stop, that of Brazos Valley, where the largest university in Texas is based, and, according to the estimates of the project’s client Texas Central – thanks to its 8 carriages capable of carrying about 400 people -, will be able to carry 7 million passengers per year with one run every hour and every 30 minutes during peak hours. After all, there is no lack of potential demand: over 13 million people live within one hour of travel from the three stations.
The Texas high-speed train will also be sustainable. The model chosen to carry out this service, in fact, is the Japanese Shinkansen, which not only to travel the Houston-Dallas route will consume eight times less energy and emit one twelfth of carbon dioxide than a Boeing 777-200, but it will be able to conserve the kinetic energy produced by the moving convoy and convert it into electrical energy to be used to slow the convoy itself.
From an economic point of view, the project will generate more than 36 billion dollars in the economy of Texas and the local communities it crosses and will create 17,000 jobs in a couple of years after its inauguration. One of the most significant aspects of the project is its financing.
Texas Central Partners stressed that the construction will be supported entirely by private investors, with no state and federal grants. For the Italian companies working with Webuild – including Italferr (Gruppo Fs), which will supervise the project – it will be a unique opportunity, since the construction of factories for products to be used for the construction of the railway line is planned, also with specialized Italian technology in some high-speed machining, with a strong impact in terms of employment.
“This new contract consolidates our international commitment in large successful projects to be shared with the Italian supply chain that has been working with us for years and which in 18 projects in Italy has reached the number of 7 thousand companies with the best global skills in the construction of infrastructures” commented the CEO of Webuild, Pietro Salini.
