Dive Brief:
- Texas Central Partners has entered into an agreement with two other companies to perform $130 million of engineering and pre-construction work on its Houston-to-Dallas high-speed rail project, the Houston Business Journal reported.
- Atlanta-based Archer Western Contractors, a subsidiary of the Walsh Group, Ltd., and the U.S. office of Spanish company Ferrovial Agroman will form Dallas to Houston Constructors (DHC), which will be the primary player in the retail project's development and design phase.
- Texas Central Partners refers to the joint venture's work as an in-kind commitment that brings the total capital raised for the project to approximately $200 million — half of the $400 million needed to move to the construction phase.
Dive Insight:
Texas Central Partners plans for trains to begin operations in 2021 and make the trip between Dallas and Houston in less than 90 minutes, with a single stop at its Brazos Valley station, to be located somewhere between Bryan/College Station and Huntsville.
Texas Central Partners claims the high-speed railway would create $36 billion in economic development through spending, increased employment and project taxes. The company said that by the end of the year, it expects to name the location for its Houston depot, the Journal reported.
The developer is still working on an environmental impact study for the project, which is expected in 2016 or 2017.
Of the joint venture, recently appointed Texas Central Partners CEO Tim Keith told the Journal, "What [the business community] will see now are opportunities to be involved in the construction. That's a big outcome of the announcement of organizing DHC. It allows anyone who's interested to approach them to talk about how to get involved."