Texas Top Court Says Private High-Speed Rail Can Use Eminent Domain
Texas Top Court Says Private High-Speed Rail Can Use Eminent Domain
Abstract
June 24, 2022 James Leggate KEYWORDS high-speed rail / Texas bullet train / Texas Central / Texas Supreme Court Order Reprints No Comments Land acquisition for a proposed $30-billion high-speed railroad between Houston and Dallas can continue after the Supreme Court of Texas said that the company developing the project has eminent domain authority. Justice Debra Lehrmann found in a June 24 opinion that the entities behind the Texas Central Railroad have that authority under the state transportation code-upholding an appeals court decision that had overturned a lower court's earlier ruling. The original lawsuit was filed by Leon County landowner James Miles, who wanted to block Texas Central from surveying on his land for the project. Attorneys for Miles had argued that the entities behind Texas Central did not count as a railroad company or as an interurban electric railway because the developer had not yet owned any track, stations or rolling stock, and only had a fraction of needed financing. Texas Central pointed to hundreds of option contracts to purchase land it had executed, its move to hire high-speed rail consultants and construction contractors and the permits it had obtained for the project to show that it was a railroad company, or at least an interurban electric railway company-a corporation chartered to conduct and operate an electric railway between two municipalities. "We are appreciative to the Texas Supreme Court for their time and consideration of this important issue as we continue work on this innovative high-speed passenger train rail," Texas Central said in a statement. A Texas Central spokesperson did not say what would come next for the company, but it has recently seen top leadership turnover.