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Passenger rail can compete with air or other surface transport options only when air and highway congestion becomes so great that enhancing the airways or highways becomes cost prohibitive.  The Houston to San Antonio corridor, or for that matter, any of the potential corridors in Texas, is a long way from that point.  But it may happen some day.  Houston and San Antonio, as is the case with all Texas cities, are spread far and wide.  The western suburbs in Houston and the eastern suburbs in San Antonio extend for west or east for more than 35 miles.  As Harvey points out, several suburban stations would be required in both areas to make the trip convenient for people - that's most Texans - who don't and will not live near the city centre.  Greyhound figured it out years ago.  It has suburban stops in every major Texas city that it serves.  If it can do it, surely the planners for a serious train option could figure it out.  Well, maybe!Many people assume that the train would run downtown to downtown, thereby being inconvenient for people living east of Houston or west of San Antonio.  But the service could start 25 miles east of Houston and 25 miles west of San Antonio, depending on the population in those areas.  Undoubtedly, this would add to the time to complete a trip from one extremity to the other, but when drive time to the airport is considered, it may not be an impediment.   Maps can be deceiving.  In addition to the population on the east side of San Antonio, New Braunfels and San Marcos are less than 25 miles from the rail line.  Texas State University - San Marcos is a large state university with many students from the Houston area, who could be candidates to use a train.  As I stated in my post, the running time would have to be chopped to at least three hours or less from downtown to downtown to complete with alternative transport options.  Greyhound has 11 schedules a day between Houston and San Antonio, with times of 3 hours and 15 minutes to 3 hours and 35 minutes.  With enhancement of the rail line and the use of tilt type equipment, it is probably doable.  In 1957, as an example, The Sunset Limited ran from Houston to San Antonio in four hours and five minutes with a stop in Schulenberg. I am in my late 60s.  I don't expect to see a rapid rail corridor in Texas, with the possible exceptions of Austin to San Antonio and Houston to Galveston, in my lifetime.  Of the potential Sunset corridors, Houston to San Antonio is probably the best bet along with Tucson to Phoenix.
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