The Texas Department of Transportation will receive $15 million to begin engineering and environmental work on a high-speed rail link between Houston and Dallas, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Monday.

Though it could be a decade or more before Houstonians can reach North Texas on a train topping 150 mph, rail advocates say the grant of federal stimulus funds is an important acknowledgment that the state's congested highways alone cannot accommodate Texas' growth.

"This is really big news for Texas because it connects the two biggest cities, and it's not just a study to analyze whether that corridor makes sense — this decision admits that if there is a corridor in Texas that makes sense, Houston-Dallas/Fort Worth is that corridor," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the former CEO of a transportation trade group.

The grant was part of $2 billion the Federal Railroad Administration awarded to 22 high-speed inter-city passenger rail projects in 15 states. The funds became available after they had been rejected by Florida, having been turned away earlier by Wisconsin and Ohio, said Bill Glavin, director of TxDOT's rail division. The Republican governors in those states said they could not afford the possible local costs associated with the work.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will have no such option. The grant stipulates the states awarded the funding cannot return it, Glavin said.

President Barack Obama's administration has set aside more than $10 billion for high-speed rail, but Texas has gotten nominal amounts — $4 million from one round of awards, then $11 million, then $5.6 million.

No plan for the cash

The bigger chunks of funding went elsewhere because Texas did not have a plan for what to do with the cash, said Maureen Crocker, executive director of the Gulf Coast Rail District.

"If Texas had had its act together, it would have gotten some high-speed rail money," LaHood said last year.

In late 2009, TxDOT formed Glavin's rail division. Last fall, the Texas Transportation Commission passed a plan developed by that division that calls for the study of high-speed rail routes between Houston and Dallas along Interstate 45, between Houston and Austin along U.S. 290, and between Oklahoma City and South Texas.

A new focus?

The document gave the state credibility among federal officials, said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston.

"This is the first big step in TxDOT trying to move beyond a focus on highways to transport people," Crocker said. "As Houston continues to grow and these other cities in Texas continue to grow, other modes of travel are going to have to be identified and enhanced so that our growth isn't choked by congestion."

The grant will fund studies to determine the environmental impact of construction and to pick a route, Glavin said. The work is expected to take 24 to 30 months.

It's not a guarantee

Emmett said the corridor is attractive because rail lines already exist, possibly removing the need to negotiate with landowners along the route. BNSF, which owns tracks in the corridor, submitted a letter of support for the grant.

Emmett cautioned that the grant does not guarantee a future for high-speed rail in Texas.

"It's still a long way from anybody saying that high-speed rail is going to come to Texas or that it's the right thing to do," he said. "Right now … the subsidy would be too great to justify it. But if you don't start planning now, then you're not in a position to pull the trigger and make that decision later on."

Whether the idea makes sense in the future will depend on the price of oil, technological advances and population density along the route, Emmett said.

'Right in the wheelhouse'

The case for high-speed rail is clear, Glavin said, adding that the state grew 20 percent in the last decade and that future growth is expected mainly in cities.

"We have three of the top 10 major metropolitan areas in the nation," he said. "Those cities are all right in the wheelhouse for high-speed intercity passenger rail. The distances are appropriate."

Lee agreed.

"High-speed rail, along with local and regional rail, makes the state very attractive for business investment," she said.

mike.morris@chron.com