(The following story by Jeannine Koranda appeared on the Wichita Eagle website on March 12, 2010.)
TOPEKA — It would take a minimum of $156 million and three years to bring passenger rail service to Wichita, according to a study released Thursday by Amtrak and the state Department of Transportation.
The study detailed four options for passenger rail service between Kansas City and Dallas-Fort Worth, with stops in Wichita.
The plans range in cost from $156 million to $479 million and could attract between 65,900 and 174,000 riders annually.
The study showed slightly higher ridership numbers than Amtrak had expected, said Michael Franke, assistant vice president for policy and development for Amtrak.
“These are not only attractive ridership levels, but we think it is very, very positive,” he said.
The study is first step in the process to bring back passenger rail service with stops that would include Wichita and Arkansas City, said state Transportation Secretary Deb Miller. It could be several years before passenger trains could start running on the route.
The next step will be deciding which of the four options the state wants to pursue, Miller said.
The Transportation Department will be seeking comments from the public before deciding how to proceed, she said.
Deborah Fischer Stout, president of the Northern Flyer Alliance, which has been lobbying to restore the passenger rail service, said she was pleased with the higher-than-expected ridership numbers and the lower costs. The state should start pursuing federal dollars to develop the system, she said.
“We need to act proactively, we can’t drag our feet,” she said.
The four options include two nighttime schedules and two daytime schedules, she said.
In two options, passengers would have to change trains and take either the Southwest Chief or the Heartland Flyer if they wanted to travel the full route between Kansas City and Fort Worth.
Currently the Southwest Chief, which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles, provides stops in Kansas City and Newton.
The Heartland Flyer runs between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.
The options outlined in the study are:
* Option 1 — A nighttime route from Newton to Fort Worth, which would cost $156 million and attract 92,500 riders annually.
This option would require passengers to transfer to the Southwest Chief at Newton if they wanted to continue on to Kansas City.
* Option 2 — A nighttime route from Kansas City to Fort Worth, which would cost $317 million and attract 118,200 riders. Riders would not have to transfer trains.
* Option 3 — A daytime route from Kansas City to Fort Worth, which would cost $479 million and attract 174,000. Riders would be able to stay on one train for the entire trip.
* Option 4 — A daytime route from Kansas City to Oklahoma City, which would cost $309 million and attract 65,900 riders. People wanting to continue on to Fort Worth would need to transfer to the Heartland Flyer in Oklahoma City.
All options include potential stops in Newton, Wichita and Arkansas City.
Options 2, 3 and 4 also include potential stops in Lawrence, Topeka, Emporia and Strong City.
Stout said her group’s preference would be the daytime Kansas City to Fort Worth route, which attracted the most riders.
Although the evening routes might appear to be the least favorable, those options fit into Amtrak’s existing schedules the best, Miller said.
With the daytime options, train riders could have to wait until the next day to catch a connecting train.
The service would be conventional passenger rail trains with top speeds of 79 mph and would use existing track used by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Franke said. A high speed rail line would require a separate track and would likely take decades to get up and running.
Miller said that the state’s current budget crunch doesn’t really affect planning for expanding passenger rail service in Kansas.
“We will not be in a recession forever, we are going to start growing again,” Miller said. “Getting prepared and being ready to do important things for the state when we do start growing again just makes sense.”