(The following story by Tim Hrenchir appeared on The Capital-Journal on April 1.)
TOPEKA, Kan. — Shawnee County commissioners sought Monday to put this community on track to getting more railroad service.
Commissioners Shelly Buhler, Vic Miller and Ted Ensley voted 3-0 to pass a joint city-county resolution asking Amtrak to make Topeka a stopping point for service between Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Mo. The Topeka City Council is expected next month to consider the measure, which is co-sponsored by Buhler, Miller, Ensley and council members Sylvia Ortiz, John Alcala and Jack Woelfel.
The proposal expresses support for the expansion of Amtrak service from Oklahoma City through Arkansas City to Kansas City, Mo., with a stop in Topeka, and for the efforts of a group called the Northern Flyer Alliance to bring about that move.
The measure also asks Amtrak to provide a full line of customer service, including baggage handling, at its station at S.E. 5th and Holliday.
The only Amtrak train currently making stops in Kansas is the Southwest Chief, which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles with stops in Kansas at Lawrence, Topeka, Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City.
Amtrak has been in talks with the Kansas Department of Transportation about potential state subsidies for it to establish a line between Kansas City, Mo., and Oklahoma City. About 10 cities have gotten behind the project, including Lawrence and Emporia.
KDOT has announced it would spend $150,000 to $200,000 to study the plan, which would connect Amtrak’s Southwest Chief and Heartland Flyer routes through a new link between Newton and Oklahoma City. The Heartland Flyer operates daily between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.
A connecting train between Newton and Oklahoma City would give northeast Kansans railroad access to Fort Worth and on to San Antonio, where connections may be made with trains traveling along the southern border to both coasts.
Commissioners on Tuesday also:
• Voted 2-1, with Ensley dissenting, to approve county zoning rules that will allow landowners to build larger “accessory buildings” on property in unincorporated areas. Ensley voted against the measure, saying he opposes the size limitations.
• Voted 3-0 to spend up to $62,678 to replace the public address system in the Expocentre’s Exhibition Hall. Commissioners also voted to spend up to $6,627 to make three emergency repairs at the Expocentre.
• Learned county refuse department employees David Nelson and Chris Ross won first and second places, respectively, in separate competitions Saturday in a refuse truck rodeo at Olathe put on by the Sunflower chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America.