(TNS) — The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved paying a consultant firm nearly $567,000 to analyze the economic impact high-speed rail lines to Houston and Fort Worth could have on the region.
The one-year deal with the Boston Consulting Group comes from a council request in March after some members raised questions about the need for a second rail line connecting Dallas to Fort Worth. Council members passed a resolution in June opposing the planned seven-story high downtown area throughline, saying they could revisit the issue after they get the results of an economic impact study.
The preferred route was changed during the summer to loop around downtown after council members worried the train would otherwise disrupt plans for a new $3 billion convention center and other multibillion-dollar redevelopment projects near Reunion Tower…