Narayan AmmachchiOfficials from Mexico and the United States are reportedly discussing a plan to build a high-speed railway line between the two North American countries. If agreed, the railroad will be completed by 2018, according to Fox News Latino.
Once built, trains would take passengers from San Antonio, Texas, to Monterrey, Mexico in less than two hours.
“U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, and Texas Department of Transportation Commissioner Jeff Austin, as well as Mexican officials, presented the plan to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx on Thursday in Washington D.C.,” reported Fox News Latino.
Mexico says it agrees with the plan and has also set aside money to fund the project, which is likely to begin in the first half of 2015. The Mexican Congress is set to pass a bill liberalizing its railroad industry in the first half of this year.
According to Fox News, the idea for the international railway sprung from a Texas Department of Transportation 850-mile study started in September of 2012. The study initially looked into building a high-speed rail between Oklahoma City and southern Texas but has been expanded to include a separate extension of the railway from San Antonio to Monterrey Mexico.
“The study costs $5.6 million dollars, and an additional $400,000 would allow us to extend the study to Monterrey. Once we have route selection then we will begin talking to the private sector,” Texas transportation commissioner Jeff Austin was reported as saying.
The railroad will certainly boost trade between the two nations. Mexico is already the second-largest goods export market to the U.S.
Monterrey is the capital city of Mexico’s northeastern state of Nuevo León, and is a major hubb for traders in both countries. Moreover, Monterrey is widely regarded as the most “Americanized” city in Mexico.
And now there is the wonderful news on Fox Latino of the bullet train they want to build between Texas and Mexico? Seems to be that those same folks bashing California High Speed Rail with a full frontal assault are now commenting in support of this project in some sort of lovefest. But wait, the the Texas republican run government also want a wall to separate themselves from people that apparently scare them from the south and they want we the taxpayers to pay for the whole thing as some sort of government bailout. I get it, the republican alternative proposal to high speed rail is a stationary wall project…great ideas on how to spend tax dollars these days coming from the other side of the aisle.You decide what civilization you want to build…I chose trains to walls myself. I envision the US moving out of the third world with high speed rail so it can compete with countries like China, a communist country, who now owns us. Never heard much from the right anyway when we spent over 6 trillion in wars and republicans go even more silent when it’s time to help our veterans.