LA-Vegas high-speed rail paves the way for ambitious transportation projects [Video]

Developers have already broken ground on a high-speed rail line to connect Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It’s the latest in big rail projects being realized around the country.

In Texas, Amtrak says it will take the lead in trying to connect the nation’s fourth- and fifth-largest cities — Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth — via high-speed rail. But the idea first needs to get state and local politicians on board before it steams down the track.

Speaking at a regional rail conference earlier in April, Amtrak’s senior vice president for high-speed rail development, Andy Byford, said Texans will be stuck widening highways and expanding airports if they don’t consider rail.

In the Lone Star State, the majority of travelers make the 225-mile slog between Houston and Dallas by road or air.

Byford says high-speed rail can make the same trip a 90-minute experience from point to point. The appeal is when the big metroplexes …