WHEREAS, The State of Texas has customarily recognized a variety of official state symbols as tangible representations of the state's historical and cultural heritage; and, WHEREAS, The Texas State Railroad, an East Texas fixture for more than a century, had its origins in the iron-industry boom that East Texas experienced in the 1870s and 1880s; in 1875 the state legislature authorized construction of a new penitentiary near Rusk in order to develop the iron-ore resources of the area, as well as to relieve overcrowding at the penitentiary in Huntsville; the ensuing iron works at the East Texas Penitentiary provided material for the present State Capitol, including the iron that was used in the building's columns and dome; and, WHEREAS, To facilitate the transport of iron ore for the smelter and foundries, as well as timber for the prison's sawmill, construction was begun in 1881 on a line known officially as the Texas State Railroad, and by 1909 the road had been extended to Palestine in adjacent Anderson County; and, WHEREAS, In addition to hauling raw materials to the penitentiary, the railroad offered regular passenger and freight service from 1907 to 1921; prison inmates, who had constructed the entire line, made up the train crew, except for the engineer, during much of this period; and, WHEREAS, The iron works at the prison closed in 1913, and eight years later the state began leasing the track of the Texas State Railroad to private companies; over the next half-century the line served in particular to move lumber and timber products; and, WHEREAS, In 1972, after most of the road had remained unused for several years, the Texas Legislature conveyed the line to the Parks and Wildlife Department; at the urging of rail enthusiasts, and after studying the feasibility of such a project, it was decided to restore the line as part of a state historical park and to dedicate the complex to the preservation and interpretation of the country's railroad heritage; and, WHEREAS, On July 4, 1976, as part of the nation's Bicentennial celebration, the Texas State Railroad State Historical Park opened to the delight of countless citizens across the state; in 2002, more than 130,000 people visited the park, including 83,000 from outside the area; of those visitors, 41,110 took a ride on one of the trains that makes the run through the piney woods and rolling hardwood creek bottoms between Palestine and Rusk; and, WHEREAS, A fully self-contained system, the Texas State Railroad operates four steam engines and four antique diesel locomotives; in addition, it maintains a complete steam-engine restoration shop, 29 miles of track, and 24 bridges, including one over the Neches River; and, WHEREAS, Included in the railroad's stock are Steam Engine No. [23], In January 2017, President Donald Trump's administration listed the project as a national transportation infrastructure priority. "YCharts." One intermediate station is planned for unincorporated Grimes County in order to serve the cities of Bryan-College Station and Huntsville, Texas, which includes more than 100,000 students at Texas A&M University (the state's largest), Blinn College, and Sam Houston State University, combined. Texas Central is the company undertaking the development, design, construction, finance, and operation of the innovative new high-speed passenger train line that will connect the fourth and fifth largest economies in the country, North Texas and Greater Houston, in less than 90 minutes, with one stop in the Brazos Valley. [36], The right-of-way to be acquired from private property owners is a significant factor for the project. However, in a December 2016 ruling, the Harris County, Texas court denied the railroad's petition for summary judgment. The transportation sector consists of companies that provide services moving people, goods, or the infrastructure to do so. [38][failed verification], Texas Central Railroad filed a lawsuit against a landowner that refused to allow survey crews onto his land. Here are the top 3 railroad stocks with the best value, growth, and most momentum. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. The historic state railroad is still maintained as a fully self-contained railroad system. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. "CP officially opens new multi-commodity transload facility in Montréal." She was previously Regional vice president of external affairs for, Chief Finance Officer (CFO) – Lori Willox. [30][31], In February 2019, Texas Central announced that it had contracted Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) for ecological mitigation services to help protect and enhance natural ecosystems and the environmental throughout construction and operations. TECHNOLOGY. WHEREAS, Included in the railroad's stock are Steam Engine No. [27] The company selected Salini Impregilo and its U.S. subsidiary Lane Construction Company to lead the civil construction consortium that will build the Texas passenger line, to the top of the rails, including viaducts, embankments and drainage. [15] In December 2015 the company announced that it had appointed two new executives to help develop the project, both reporting to the CEO. [42], On July 16, 2020, The Surface Transportation Board in Washington, DC ruled that Texas Central Railroad is part of the interstate rail network based on its through-ticketing with Amtrak, and therefore subject to the STB's jurisdiction. [2], The signalling of the line is likely to be a replica of the digital ATC system used on Tokaido Shinkansen. News. These are the railroad stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. [28], In January 2018, plans for the station in Dallas were released as the preferred location identified by the Federal Railroad Administration in their Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The iShares Transportation Average ETF (IYT) does not track railroad stocks directly but represents the broader transportation sector and a reasonable approximation of this industry's performance.