Web posted
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Bringing back Amtrak
Restoring passenger service through area gains momentum
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
WICHITA -- Amtrak quit running through south central Kansas in 1979. Now, Wichita is looking into bringing the train back.
City of Wichita officials met Wednesday with passenger rail proponents and county and state officials to discuss the possibility of bringing back Amtrak service to South Central Kansas.
Among the officials at the meeting was State Sen. Greta Goodwin, D-Winfield, an advocate of reestablishing passenger rail service through Cowley County.
"There's the need and the want for train service coming through this area," Goodwin said.
Amtrak has established service in Oklahoma and Texas, and it would be relatively inexpensive to extend that service north into Kansas, said passenger rail proponent Evan Stair, of Oklahoma.
Amtrak's Heartland Flyer has made daily runs between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth for the past eight years.
Stair estimated that Kansas' share in extending the service would be about $2.9 million. That would include costs of upgrading Burlington Northern Santa Fe track for passenger service.
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer said he had discussed extending Amtrak service north to Wichita with Oklahoma City Mayor Mike Cornett, and that Cornett had invited him to see Oklahoma City's rail car system.
The stumbling block is finding funds to get the passenger rail service started.
Brewer said he'd like to have the involvement of the Regional Economic Area Partnership, REAP. "I think we need to talk to them," he said.
REAP worked to get state aid for affordable air fares for air travel from Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport, noted Scott Moore, Wichita assistant city manager, after the meeting. REAP in partnership with Wichita might also help get funding for extending the Heartland Flyer into Kansas.
Irene Hart, director of the Sedgwick County Division of Community Development, asked Stair about the Heartland Flyer's financial picture.
"It is my understanding that the Heartland Flyer is (financially) secure from now on," Stair said.
"My guess is that the Heatland Flyer could be run in three states (Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas) for $14 million," Stair said. "The Oklahoma City to Newton cost portion would be $5 million."
Of that $5 million, Kansas would pay an estimated $2.9 million and Oklahoma would cover about $2.1 million, he said.
The Heartland Flyer could be extended north from Oklahoma City to Perry and Ponca City, in Oklahoma, and Arkansas City, Winfield, Wichita and Newton.
Some of the track systems and grade crossings would need to be upgraded, but the BNSF track is pretty solid since that road is used to run freight, he said.
Rail riders could transfer to the Southwestern Chief at Newton, an east-west service, Stair said. The problem is that now that train stops at Newton at 3 a.m.
"We want to see Kansas have a daytime train," he said.
Stair said that the Heartland Flyer is considered a success in Oklahoma based on ridership figures and economic development studies. About 64,000 people ride the service annually.
"We want to see people from Ponca City taking it to Wichita to visit Old Town," he said. "Eventually, we want to see people from Wichita riding it to Kansas City."
There always has been enthusiasm in southern Kansas for passenger rail service, but the question of funding has been a stumbling block to reestablishing it, Goodwin said. The Kansas Department of Transportation uses the vast majority of its budget on highway projects, not rail.
"I served on the transportation committee and was Governor (Bill) Graves' representative on the T2000 bill," she said, referring to Kansas' 10-year transportation bill that will expire in 2009.
The state Legislature already has discussed what projects to put in its next transportation bill, she said. More than 400 projects were brought forward and 85 of these were determined to be priorities.
"That's $20 million to $30 million more than money we have," she said.
Stair said the state Legislature may not yet be ready to "jump in with both feet" to support the Amtrak expansion.
"It's a slow process," he said. "But we're looking toward the future. We don't want to put all our eggs in the highway pot, but also in alternative transportation.
"I think this is going to happen in the near future. The only question is: Are we going to do it now or later?"
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