Dallas, TX
Dallas' Opposition to Elevated Downtown High-Speed Rail Line Won't Delay Environmental Review
The Dallas City Council’s last-minute opposition to the proposed downtown high-speed rail route to Fort Worth won’t stall the critical federal environmental process that’s already underway.
That’s a big deal. It keeps the current environmental analysis on track to wrap up next March, which, once approved by the feds, will allow the North Central Texas Council of Governments (COG) to begin pursuing funding and more in-depth engineering. The COG delivered the news during a meeting of the 45-member Regional Transportation Council on Thursday afternoon. The project itself is expected to cost $6 billion and shuttle riders between Dallas, Arlington, and Fort Worth within 30 minutes.
The COG began producing the Environmental Impact Statement last March, which triggers a 12-month deadline. Michael Morris, the transportation director for the COG, said he expects it to cost another $1.6 million to produce 30 percent of the new alignment’s design. Planning for the environmental statement has already cost the agency $12.1 million.
The end product from this analysis generally establishes the alignment for major transportation projects, so when the Dallas City Council passed a resolution in June opposing elevated rail lines through downtown—pending an economic analysis—the COG was concerned that it could delay its planning by a year or longer. It had to design a new route through the most complicated part of the entire 30-mile line: downtown Dallas.
On Thursday, regional transportation planners said they received permission from the federal government to plan for two separate downtown alignments. Each would shuttle trains about seven stories high to the federally approved high-speed rail station in the Cedars, about a mile south of Reunion Tower. The older alignment has the tracks just east of the Hyatt Regency, splitting between the forthcoming $3 billion convention center overhaul through the heart of southwest downtown. The newer alignment misses downtown entirely, running just west of Interstate 35E along Riverfront Boulevard on its way to that Cedars station.
Morris said the alignment that misses downtown would likely result in losing a connection to Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, where Amtrak, Trinity Railway Express, and DART lines converge. But it wouldn’t require any maneuvering around skyscrapers. (Hunt Realty plans to build a $5 billion mixed use development in the corner that would house the other alignment. It contends its plans cannot coexist with the line.) Morris said the agency designed the first downtown route to include a “lobby” or a people mover that could shuttle riders to and from the Cedars station into the convention center and downtown’s Union Station.
If Dallas chooses the western alignment, the COG would no longer pay for that connection, he said. But Morris said it would still investigate ways to link the high-speed rail station with the convention center. Amtrak, which has taken over the separate Houston-to-Dallas high-speed rail project, has concerns about getting riders into downtown if Dallas picks the western alignment, said COG program director Brendon Wheeler.
“I think you’re gonna have your hands full trying to make that same connection in such an easy and graceful way that the high-speed rail system creates for you,” Morris said during Thursday’s meeting of the Regional Transportation Council.
Morris is no stranger to attaching big-dollar adjacent projects to his preferred plans. The city of Dallas has “paused” its support for the downtown alignment until an economic analysis can be completed, which is expected in October. Then it will establish its preference. But for now, the Council was nervous about sewing a high-speed rail line into its downtown.
“I believe in placemaking, and we certainly wouldn’t put a highway for cars through downtown,” said Councilman Chad West, one of the members of the Regional Transportation Council. “This is very different obviously, but it still creates some challenges when you look at that whole area … that it would cut off. There is no perfect solution, as you point out, and we still must work through that.”
While some Dallas officials have questioned the need for a high-speed rail connection to Fort Worth, the COG believes the federal government envisions this corridor of North Texas as a nexus for rail travel. A separate line from Houston to Dallas is already federally approved, and extending the line to Fort Worth would open up possibilities that could run rail to Central Texas and the western United States.
That’s all a long way away. Amtrak has taken over the Houston project, but still has land to acquire, designs to complete, and funding to secure. The federal plan for a nationwide rail network is still a draft. But the COG is getting its house in order, preparing just in case this all comes to fruition and big buckets of money come available.
Dallas’ job is now to determine whether the tradeoff of connectivity between the Cedars and downtown is worth the risk of how an elevated rail line affects development near the convention center. It made a stand, and it didn’t derail the project.
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Matt Goodman
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Matt Goodman is the online editorial director for D Magazine. He’s written about a surgeon who killed, a man who…
Dallas, TX
Public frustration grows as Dallas leaders debate billion‑dollar City Hall fix or relocation
Cardi B, one of hip-hop’s most outsize personalities — and one of its most reliable hitmakers — is coming to Dallas.
The New York City-born rapper broke through in 2017 with the hit single “Bodak Yellow,” launching a chart-topping run that soon included “I Like It” and the blockbuster hit “WAP.” Her Grammy-winning debut album, Invasion of Privacy, cemented her as a defining voice in contemporary rap, blending brash humor, confessional storytelling and club-ready production.
The 33-year-old’s success helped boost the profile of women in a genre long dominated by men, encouraging record labels to sign more female rappers. She has frequently teamed up with rising female artists, including GloRilla, FendiDa Rappa and “WAP” collaborator Megan Thee Stallion.
Cardi’s stop at American Airlines Center is part of the arena run supporting her second studio album, 2025’s Am I the Drama? Recent shows in the “Little Miss Drama Tour” have leaned into spectacle, with elaborate staging, surprise guest appearances and a set list that spans her entire career.
Fans can expect a high-energy performance built around booming trap beats, pop hooks and Cardi’s signature unfiltered banter — the same mix that has helped her sell out dates across the tour and turn concerts into party-like events.
DETAILS: March 7 at 7:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Tickets start at $334.10, but some verified resale tickets are cheaper. ticketmaster.com.
Pop legend Diana Ross performs March 7 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
Sarah Hepola
OTHER CONCERTS
Bluesy psychedelic rock band All Them Witches performs March 7 at House of Blues Dallas.
Travis Pinson
ALL THEM WITCHES March 7 at 8 p.m. at House of Blues Dallas. ticketmaster.com.
DIANA ROSS March 7 at 8 p.m. at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. winstar.com.
RICH BRIAN March 7 at 8 p.m. at The Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum. axs.com.
TRACE ADKINS March 7 at 10 p.m. at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth. billybobstexas.com.
AFROJACK March 8 at 3 p.m. at It’ll Do Club in Deep Ellum. eventbrite.com.
LITHE March 8 at 8 p.m. at House of Blues Dallas. ticketmaster.com.
CONAN GRAY March 10 at 8 p.m. at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. ticketmaster.com.
MATISYAHU March 10 at 8 p.m. at the Granada Theater in Dallas. prekindle.com.
OUR LADY PEACE, WITH THE VERVE PIPE March 12 at 8 p.m. at Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall in Fort Worth. ticketmaster.com.
PAUL WALL March 12 at 9 p.m. and March 13 at 10 p.m. at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth. billybobstexas.com.
The fiercest legislative primary fights Tuesday in North Texas were inside the GOP.
In Dallas County, two moderate GOP incumbent representatives faced challengers after being censured by their own county party.
In Collin County, several Republican state House members were fending off rivals running to their right.
The Dallas Morning News will provide live election results this evening when the polls close at 7 p.m. Results will be updated throughout the evening for statewide races and Dallas, Collin, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant counties.
Dallas County, House District 108
Republican Morgan Meyer, first elected in 2014, was challenged by attorney Sanjay Narayan in a district that includes the Park Cities, Oak Lawn and Preston Hollow.
Narayan criticized Meyer for backing renewable energy expansion and for being censured by the Dallas GOP last year.
Meyer was among House Republicans targeted after disputes over the House speaker vote and chamber rules. He and other lawmakers called the censure effort unconstitutional.
In the campaign, Meyer focused on property tax relief and emergency preparedness after the Camp Mystic tragedy.
Small business owner Allison Mitchell is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Dallas County, House District 112
Republican Angie Chen Button, who has represented the district covering parts of Dallas, Richardson and Garland since 2009, drew three primary opponents.
Button has highlighted her support for small businesses and public schools and her bipartisan record. A senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, she would play a key role in the state’s property tax debate if reelected.
Dallas-area delegation in the Texas House of Representatives on Sunday, May 30, 2021, showing State Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Garland, in the chamber.
Bob Daemmrich / Bob Daemmrich/CapitolPressPhoto
Opponents Chad Carnahan and Tina Price attacked Button for being censured by the Dallas GOP last year, a move she and other lawmakers have criticized as an internal party power struggle.
Carnahan, a businessman, said he wants to lower property taxes and prevent Shariah in Texas.
Price said she would improve public schools and spur the re-use of old buildings. Also in the GOP race: Perry E. Barker Sr.
Democrat Zach Herbert was unopposed.
Collin County, House District 61
Two Republicans are seeking to represent the district that covers most of McKinney and parts of Frisco and Celina.
Incumbent Keresa Richardson, who was elected in 2024, and former state Rep. Frederick Frazier both support eliminating property taxes.
Richardson, an entrepreneur, said she would expand the Texas voucher-like program for education.
Frazier, a former police officer and McKinney City Council member, was more cautious about expanding the program.
Frederick Frazier speaks as Rep. Keresa Richardson looks on during a candidate forum for Republicans in Collin County ahead of the March primary election at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
Two political newcomers, Jackie Bescherer and Brittany Black, are running in the Democratic primary. Both oppose Texas’ voucher program and vow to increase public education funding.
Collin County, House District 67
Republican Rep. Jeff Leach, first elected in 2012, faces Matt Thorsen in a district that includes parts of Plano, Allen, McKinney and Melissa.
Leach has highlighted his conservative record, including legislation barring Shariah in Texas courts. He also served as a House impeachment manager during Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2023 trial, a role he has defended amid backlash from activists.
Thorsen, a small business owner and former youth pastor, helped lead the effort to censure Leach last year. He has criticized Leach’s impeachment role and accused him of siding with Democrats on House rules.
Both support eliminating property taxes, expanding education savings accounts and oppose the development formerly known as EPIC City. Two Democrats are also running, though the district has leaned Republican.
Collin County, House District 70
Three Republicans are competing for the nomination to run against incumbent Democrat Mihaela Plesa, who is running unopposed in her party’s primary.
Democrat Mihaela Plesa responds to questions during a District 70 Candidate Forum hosted by Raise Your Hand Texas at Plano ISD Academy High School in Plano on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.
Liesbeth Powers / Staff Photographer
George Flint, a former district judge and Collin County Republican Party Chair, emphasized eliminating property taxes and securing the border in his campaign.
Jack Ryan Gallagher, an attorney, said he would attract companies to North Texas, improve public schools and partner with local law enforcement if elected.
Michael Hewitt, an attorney, said he would gradually lower property taxes and work to keep Texas a business-friendly state.
The district includes parts of Plano, Richardson and Far North Dallas.
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