The Galveston–Houston Electric Railway was an interurban railway between

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

and

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

from 1911 to 1936. The railway was recognized as the fastest interurban line in 1925 and 1926.

Route

The Interurban ran the from downtown

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

to downtown

in as little as 75 minutes. The track roughly followed the current path of

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...

( Gulf Freeway), and is now used as a utility right of way for high tension power lines. The Galveston Bay

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

was considered a great feat of engineering and cost about US$2 million (US$ in ) to build in the late 1910s. While most of the original stations have been demolished to make room for new structures, several artifacts remain.

Daikin Park Daikin Park (originally Enron Field and formerly Astros Field and Minute Maid Park) is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 and is the home ballpark of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

was built from

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

, and features a railway theme. Before Interstate 45, a small, two-story interurban station was located on College Avenue where it crossed Airport Boulevard. This crossing was not at right angles but like an "X" and would be located slightly east of I-45 on the feeder street, if it still existed today. Airport Blvd becomes College Ave in South Houston at I-45. The original causeway in Galveston can be easily seen to the east from the interstate highway causeway. Other stops included Park Place, City of South Houston (formerly City of Dumont), College Ave/Airport Blvd at Interstate 45, Clear Creek Crossing (the power station), and the Galveston Terminal on 21st Street, between Church and Post Office streets.

Future

There has been recent talk of re-establishing some form of train service between Houston and Galveston. In 2002, test trips have been made using Amtrak equipment under the ''Gulfliner'' name. The

Trinity Railway Express The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) is a commuter rail service in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, United States. It was established by an interlocal agreement between Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Metro. Each transit auth ...

sent a train to Houston in 2005, with the intention of using it as an evacuation train during

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico, tying with Hurricane Milton in 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, 2024, as well as being the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the ...

, though it was not needed. As late as 2007, the city of Galveston was considering reviving Galveston-Houston passenger rail, potentially on the GH&H corridor. It has been suggested that some parts of the old Interurban right of way might be used to bypass congested sections of track on the host railroad.

References

External links

Houston Streetcar History Pages

Galveston Island Railroad Museum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galveston Houston Electric Railway Defunct Texas railroads Interurban railways in Texas Transportation in Houston Transportation in Galveston County, Texas History of Galveston, Texas History of Houston Railway lines opened in 1911 1936 disestablishments in Texas Greater Houston Galveston Bay Area Railway lines closed in 1936 1911 establishments in Texas