(The following story by Foss Farrar appeared on the Arkansas City Traveler website on May 12, 2009.)
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Transportation announced today it plans to apply for $10 million from federal funding sources to make rail safety and track improvements between Newton and the Kansas-Oklahoma border for the possible expansion of Amtrak service into this area.
“We think we can do that,” KDOT spokesman Ron Kaufman said this morning. “Those kinds of improvements are needed if we get expanded passenger rail in the state.”
Kaufman said that KDOT is trying to get a head start in re-establishing Amtrak service between Oklahoma City and Kansas City, pending the outcome of an Amtrak study that is expected to be completed this year. North-south Amtrak service through Arkansas City was discontinued in 1979.
Last month, the Kansas Senate passed a resolution asking KDOT to apply for federal stimulus money available for intercity passenger rail programs.
Kaufman said he realized there was anxiety among legislators and passenger rail proponents to start the process of applying for grants, but guidelines for making applications had not yet been made available. But in a passenger rail update today, KDOT indicated it is ready to take action, even though the Amtrak feasibility study isn’t yet complete.
“Building on strong grassroots support spearheaded by the Northern Flyer Alliance, the Kansas Legislature also showed interest in expanding state-supported passenger rail in Kansas,” KDOT said in the update, dated today.
KDOT supports the concept of state-supported passenger rail, it said, and it will take steps to seek funds for rail infrastructure improvements and plan for the future “in the event the Legislature funds state-supported passenger rail service.”
KDOT plans to seek the funding from two federal funding sources, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the authorization of a new federal surface transportation program.
If KDOT is successful in getting $10 million in ARRA funds, they would be used to upgrade the highway-rail crossing signal timing between Newton and the Kansas-Oklahoma state line to handle 79-mph passenger train speeds, according to the KDOT update.
Pending the Amtrak feasibility study and funding approved by the Kansas Legislature, an existing Heartland Flyer route between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City could be extended to Kansas City on BNSF tracks. There could be a potential passenger rail stop in Arkansas City.