6 rural Texas counties file lawsuit against Houston-Dallas high speed train

A lawsuit has been filed against the high-speed train being planned between Houston and Dallas, calling out its environmental impact. The suit has been filed by a group that includes six mostly rural Texas counties, 10 landowners, and Texans Against High-Speed Rail Inc., an anti-rail group.

Plaintiffs include: the Counties of Grimes, Freestone, Leon, Madison, Navarro, and Waller; and landowners Ronny Caldwell, Calvin House, Donovan Maretick, David & Heather Miseldine, Ronald & Becky Scasta, Gene & Michaelle Whitesides, and Logan Wilson III.

The lawsuit was filed on April 14 against the U.S. Department of Transportation, and alleges that DOT's Federal Railroad Administration conducted a shoddy review of the environmental impact of the rail line, including its proposed use of Japanese bullet-train technology that won't connect to existing railways.

RELATED: More than 8 years in, high-speed rail project promising 90-minute trip from Houston to Dallas still lacks permits

Texas Central Railroad, the developer, is not included in the lawsuit.

The complaint says that Central Japan Railway Co.'s Tokaido Shinkansen HSR technology won't run on any other tracks and no other trains can run on its tracks, and therefore won't support the existing national rail network.

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The route takes the train from Houston to Dallas in 90 minutes at 186 miles per hour, however, much of the route cuts through rural, privately owned property.