(The following story by Foss Farrar appeared on the Arkansas City Traveler website on March 15.)
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. — An Amtrak feasibility study on adding passenger rail service in Kansas is in the works.
Kansas Department of Transportation officials met Friday in Topeka with Amtrak representatives to request the study on the feasibility of extending the Heartland Flyer passenger rail service from Oklahoma City to Kansas City.
Also attending the meeting were city officials from Arkansas City, Emporia, Lawrence and Wichita, as well as representatives of two passenger rail advocacy groups. In addition, Oklahoma Department of Transportation officials attended the meeting via speaker phone.
“The overall aspect of bringing in a whole new transportation operation is kind of fun to talk about,” said Ark City City Manager Doug Russell, who attended the meeting.
Russell added that in addition to providing Ark City with an alternate transportation option, Amtrak service here could help local tourism and economic development.
The State of Kansas would fund the study estimated to cost $150,000 to $200,000, KDOT spokesman Ron Kaufman said. It is expected to start in late summer and take about six months to complete.
“The study is going to evaluate and find out the cost to provide Amtrak passenger service between Kansas City and Oklahoma City or on to Fort Worth,” Kaufman said.
He said now is a good time for such a study in Kansas because the state is planning for a new transportation program within the next few years. The current, 10-year comprehensive transportation program ends in 2009.
KDOT was prompted to request the Amtrak study by “vocal grassroots efforts,” interest from local communities and legislators, Kaufman said.