High-speed train foes hail latest court ruling
Leon County judge says project can’t force sales of land; fight is far from over
The planned high-speed rail project from Houston to Dallas hit a big obstacle last week in rural Leon County when a judge there declared the project’s backers did not have authority to force landowners to sell or provide access to properties.
Opponents of the rail project on Monday cheered the ruling as a death knell for the line — albeit one that will take years to savor and finalize.
“This project cannot be finished without eminent domain and the project is completely off track,” said Blake Beckham, the Dallas lawyer who has represented opponents of the Texas Central Railway project.
Company officials said Monday many of the opponents’ claims and the significance of the ruling were exaggerated.
“Texas Central is appealing the Leon County judge’s decision and, meanwhile, it is moving forward on all aspects of the train project,” the company said in a statement.
The heart of many of the legal fights, and Monday’s decision, center on whether the company is, in fact, a railroad. Backers since 2014 have insisted the project — using Japanese bullet trains to connect Houston and Dallas via 90-minute trips as 220 mph — is a railroad and entitled to access to property to conduct surveys and acquire property via eminent domain.
“Texas has long allowed survey access by railroads like Texas Central, pipelines, electrical lines and other industries that provide for a public good and a strong economy,” the company said.
Opponents have insisted that since the company does not operate as a railroad, owns no trains and has not laid a single piece of track. it is not eligible for the access.
“Simply self-declaring that you are a railroad … does not make it so,” said Kyle Workman, one of the founders of Texans Against High-Speed Rail.
Judge Deborah Evans of the 87th District Court agreed, issuing an order Friday that found Texas Central and another company it formed “are not a railroad or interurban electric company.”
Leon County landowners Jim and Barbara Miles fought the company in court, seeking the ruling to declare the company ineligible to acquire or survey their land.
“This company thought it could come in and run roughshod over rural Texans,” Barbara Miles said.
“It is about family, friends, sweat, sacrifice, responsibility and history,” she added later. “It is about being good stewards of the land as long as we have it.”
The ruling covers Freestone, Leon, and Limestone counties where the line is planned.
In previous court cases related to land access in Harris County and Ellis County, the company has been denied access or dropped its request in the face of mounting questions from the court or opponents.
“They have lost every single legal interaction,” Beckham said.
Texas Central disputed that in a statement.
“A judge in Ellis County said trials should be held on survey cases for three local property owners,” the company said. “The judge did not rule on the merits of those cases, instead only saying they should proceed to trial.”
The company has said for more than four years that it plans to operate trains every 30 minutes from a station, likely located at the site of Northwest Mall near Loop 610 and U.S. 290, to Dallas. The company, while acknowledging loans from Japan and other financiers, stresses it is Texas-owned and Texas-built.
“We have a tremendous amount of opportunity to involve Texas businesses,” company chief investment officer Tim Keith told a rail conference in Dallas last month.
Keith also noted two-thirds of economic activity in Texas is generated in the Houston and Dallas areas. Connecting them more efficiently is simply necessary, he said.
“It sells itself,” Keith said of the proposed rail line.
Company officials, who once predicted a 2017 start to construction, now say they could start building the line later this year if all hurdles — including federal approval — fall into place, or later if issues remain unresolved.
While supported by elected officials in the two metro areas and by many residents, the bullet train plan has received near-universal scorn in rural areas. Hundreds showed up to Federal Railroad Administration meetings along the route last year to voice opposition to the company’s plans.
Many cited the company’s attempts to gain entry to their land as trampling on their property rights. Often, landowners said, the company insisted it had the right as a railroad, threatening legal action.
“They should not be able to pressure landowners by actually being able to file lawsuits on that false premise,” said state Rep. Ben Leman, R-Anderson, who led opposition efforts as Grimes County judge.
Leman said he plans to file bills in the coming weeks in Austin to further clarify landowner rights in Texas.
“Is completely broken and it needs significant and meaningful improvement,” he said. “I look forward to having this discussion inside the Capitol.”
Though elated, critics of the bullet train said the ruling is merely part of a process to stop the project. Workman said he expected the company to appeal.
“An appeal will take years, many years, and, like I said, we are ready to take it all the way to the top,” he said, predicting a supreme court ruling. “This is a huge victory, but the war is not won.”