Could a bullet train from Dallas to Houston actually improve Texas’ environment?

Someday you could hop downtown Dallas and arrive in Houston in fewer than 90 minutes.

The trip would save Texans time. But the four hours of drive time or a trip to the airport, it also could be the cleanest and safest way to travel between  cities, according to Texas Central, the company behind the Texas High-Speed Train. And project could be just a year away from breaking ground.

North Texans have  talking about a bullet train between Dallas and Houston for years. And while it’s getting closer to reality, some opposition and federal hurdles stand in the way of the corridor’s construction.

“We’ve had our headsworking on this for a long time,” said Holly Reed, Texas  managing director of external affairs. “The conversation has shifted, ‘Is this  going to happen?’ to ‘When can I ride?’”

The speed train have a number of impacts on the state, from economy to education, Texas Central says it wants to ensure it has only positive effects on Texas’ environment.

Once train is operating, it could remove over 14,000 vehicles per day on Interstate 45 between Dallas and Houston, and that decrease could save 81.5 million gallons of gas and help reduce emissions, Cowle said.

“Being able to improve air quality by removing cars off the road will further improve the environment impact,” she said. “From an air-quality perspective, it’s a very powerful tool.”

Despite benefits of the project, it  faces opposition. Some of the strongest resistance comes Texans Against High-Speed Rail,  organization made up for Texas residents, private property owners, business owners and elected officials. The group has 19,000 followers on Facebook.