Carlos F. Aguilar’s Post

Given news reports in the international press today, I am announcing my departure from Texas Central. I am immensely proud of the achievements of OUR team, gaining among many other accomplishments, end to end regulatory approvals for the first true high-speed rail project in our nation’s history. This was a most conscientious and complex endeavor, carefully addressing concerns from land owners, stakeholders, and providing opportunities to all sectors of our society, a FIRST for US Infrastructure. The Texas Central staff grew from a small start-up to an expert interdisciplinary and integrated team that became a true leader in this sector worldwide, attracting the best of the best talent from Texas, the US, and, the World, to execute this project properly. Most of the “graduates” of our effort will continue to contribute to our economy through their roles at other companies. Eventually, this team could implement this desperately-needed project to improve safety, reduce traffic, reduce greenhouse emissions, and connect two of the most important metro centers in the country with the most advanced train service available. I will never forget your ethics, talent, dedication, and sheer resilience through it all! I am also very proud of the convening power that we were able to garner, attracting the best companies in the high speed rail industry worldwide to compete for key roles on this marquee project, ensuring that the design basis, costing, and business and operating plans were second to none. While I could not align our current stakeholders on a common vision for a path forward, I wish the project the greatest success and remain convinced of the importance of this venture for the safety and prosperity of ALL Texans. I will be announcing next steps soon, but wanted to take the time to thank not only our shareholders and my dedicated team at Texas Central, but also all the tireless advocates for the project: Mayor Sylvester Turner, Mayor Eric Johnson, Mayor Karl Mooney, US Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, US Congresswoman Kay Granger, US Congressman Colin Allred, US Congressman Seth Moulton, Texas State Senator Royce West, Texas State Representative Yvonne Davis, NCTCOG Transportation Director, Michael Morris, GHP CEO Bob Harvey, Chambers of Commerce, and so many other leaders from the Political and Business sectors in Texas and beyond. Texas and the US deserve the best transportation options, and I am convinced that in time, these will become a reality. We can do this. VALE!