Texas' capital city has gone cap in hand to Washington, folks, with Austin Mayor Kirk Watson turning on the Texas charm in D.C. this Wednesday, railing on about the need for a big ol' slice of federal pie to boost the state's transit systems. Watson is hankering for a hefty cut from the $66 billion Amtrak jackpot allotted under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, eager to lay down tracks for high-speed trains across the Texas triangle, as reported by KXAN.
In a strategic pitch, gunning with both barrels for the attention of the powers-that-be, Watson argued before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, asserting Texas is ripe for rail reinvention due to its ballooning populations and bustling city proximities. Watson pointed out that "the Texas triangle of Dallas-Fort Worth to Houston to San Antonio and backup through Austin to DFW has about 70% of the population of the state of Texas, 74% of the economy," according to KXAN.
But it ain't all talk and no hat. Watson revealed he's been around the barn a few times with Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, jawing over this very topic several times this year. Even Texas' Department of Transportation is in on the hustle, having applied for a grant under the same Act to start figuring out what an extensive rail service might look like darting across the Texas State, as per Austin American Statesman.
