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No one in Texas is considering seriously a rapid rail system to connect the state's major cities, with the exception of Austin and San Antonio, as per the Texas Transportation Institute.  And most people think it is at least a decade away.  The plans for the Trans Texas Corridor include a rail right-of-way, but the focus is on freight traffic as opposed to passenger traffic.  In fact, the corridor is being designed to bypass all the cities between Laredo and the Oklahoma border.  The rail corridor won't even go into the center of any city.    The increase in the cost of fuel has pinched the pocketbooks of most Texans, but there has not been a noticeable decrease in driving.  Most economists believe that gasoline will have to hit $5.00 a gallon before it will cause a major shift in how Texans get to and from work. Most advocates of rapid or high speed passenger rail seem to believe that automotive technology will remain static and vehicles will continue to rely on gasoline fueled power plants.  Two weeks ago GM, as an example, announced that it has developed an electric vehicle that will be able to run 300 miles at highway speeds on a single charge.  It is not ready for prime time, but it will be in a decade or so.  In the mean time, the automobile manufactures are readying a new fleet of more fuel efficient vehicles to be introduced over the next couple of years.  Included in the offerings will be a line of clean diesels that will get good mileage.Southwest Airlines newest Boeing 737s are 30 per more efficient than the airplanes that they have replaced.  The Boeing 787 is 40 per cent more efficient than the long haul airplanes that it is designed to replace.  Airplanes of the future will be even more fuel efficient.  The airlines have raised their fares to cover the increases in their fuel costs, but flying is still a good deal, especially for one person.  As in a business person who wants to go from Dallas to San Antonio and back in one day.Speaking of fuel costs, increases have crimped Amtrak's bottom line.  Presumably they would be an equally challenging problem for high speed rail in Texas, unless the line was electrified, which would really balloon the cost.  Increases in the cost of driving will cause some Texans to change their lifestyle.  They will tend toward more fuel efficient vehicles.  Some of them will move closer to work.  A few will even move into the center city.  And some, although not many, will use public transport.  But most folks will continue to drive or fly. Part of the challenge for passenger rail in Texas is the culture.  Unless you live in Texas, which I don't sense that you do, you are not likely to understand the culture or the layout of our cities or the state's living patterns.  And they all have an impact on the potential for passenger rail service.  This is a much different place than the Northeast or, for that matter, any other place in the United States.  Most Texans will find a way around the fuel issue and increases in the cost of flying.  They are headed in that direction now.  They are not going to get on a train unless congestion overwhelms the highway and air traffic system.  And we are long way from that scenario.
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