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Arkansas is seeking half a million dollars in federal stimulus money to study the feasibility of a high-speed rail between Little Rock and Texarkana.
The route is part of what has been dubbed the South Central High-Speed Passenger Rail Corridor in President Obama’s “High-Speed Rail Strategic Plan.”
Meanwhile, Texas has applied for federal money to study a high-speed rail from Dallas to Texarkana. Little Rock to Dallas by car is about five hours. High-speed rail would cut that travel time in half, connecting The Rock to the Big D in a much bigger way.
Would such an option benefit Arkansas, potentially providing a boost to the state’s efforts to recruit tech-based businesses and attract innovation?
If nothing else, Hog fans who didn’t want to fly could make it to the A&M game each fall in half the time…
Let us know what you think in comments.
Well, the reality of it is, an interstate high-speed rail system, much less a route between Little Rock and Dallas, remains just a pipe dream. By the time that vision is realized, Arkansas may well have leapfrogged its neighbors as a source for tech-based innovation.
We’re talking high-speed rail, so we may as well dream. Which is more likely, I wonder? Actually implementing such a rail system, or Arkansas emerging as a prominent tech hub?
A Dallas-LR connection would be great – if we’re aiming to send all our Arkansas shoppers to the Galleria and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium for weekend spending sprees. Meanwhile, Arkansas’ technical hubs in Fayetteville, Little Rock and Jonesboro would remain balkanized as ever, with our technology entrepreneurs functionally captive in their respective communities.
On the other hand, a 2.5 hour commute would almost certainly make it attractive for our Little Rock technical workforce to get well-paying jobs in Dallas and simply contribute to the growth of DFW Metro businesses. Commuters in the outlying suburbs of Atlanta, New York, San Francisco and other large metro areas routinely live in this fashion. Maybe some of the income earned by this new generation of knowledge workers would be spent in Little Rock, eventually?