Texas Central Partners, developer of a new high-speed train connecting North Texas and Houston, today announced that it has named Carlos F. Aguilar as the new CEO of of the company and its subsidiaries.

The announcement highlights the progress of Texas Central’s project from the development stage to the planning, engineering and construction phase. Over the last two years, Texas Central has been proceeding with the necessary environmental, design, engineering, field studies and related work as part of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement as well as discussions with those FRA components responsible for safety and technology issues.

The private Texas-based company is developing the nation’s first high-speed passenger train connecting North Texas and Houston, with a midway stop in the Brazos Valley. Texas Central and its affiliated entities will be responsible for the system’s design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance. The company’s market-led approach is backed by private investors, not government grants, a new business model for infrastructure projects.

For the last 16 months, Tim Keith has been the CEO, responsible for managing all aspects of the development phase of the project, including planning, government relations, public and business community engagement, regulatory processes and the raising of equity capital. He will continue as Texas Central president, reporting to Aguilar and will continue to focus on capital markets and financing, operations and external affairs.

Aguilar, formerly a sr. VP at CH2M Hill, has an extensive background in industrial and infrastructure work, and his appointment — effective December 12 — reflects the Texas project’s focus on the next phase of construction and operations.

Aguilar, while at CH2M, served on its Management Committee and was chairman of the CCPP Project Consortium for the Ichthys LNG Facility. Before that, he was president of BrightSource Construction Management and sr. VP at BrightSource Energy, developer of large-scale solar thermal power plants. He led the development, engineering, procurement and construction of the company’s portfolio of projects, including the development and construction of Ivanpah Solar Electricity Generating System, the largest solar thermal plant in the world.

In his 12 years with Bechtel Corp. he held several leadership roles, including principal VP, Bechtel Power Corp.; president, Bechtel Financing Services; and COO of United Infrastructure Co., Bechtel Group’s civil infrastructure investment company. He also was regional operations manager, chief engineer and environmental officer for the private sector equity and financing arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group.