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Passenger rail line survives state budget talks, looks to expand
Oklahoma’s only passenger train line survived a last-minute budget raid attempt and will continue to operate as a connection between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth for another year.
The Heartland Flyer Amtrak line has been in survival mode for years during an era of bleak state revenue collections, and a proposed state budget last month sought to take money out of the Passenger Rail Revolving Fund to help shore up a nearly $900 million budget hole, which would have put the rail line in jeopardy.
But officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation were successful in convincing lawmakers to look elsewhere for the money and the state will spend the $2.9 million next year to maintain the Heartland Flyer, which makes five stops in Oklahoma.
Texas contributes $2.4 million for the Heartland Flyer.
While the state has had to work just to keep the Heartland Flyer operating in its current form, expansion continues to be part of the conversation, including someday connecting Oklahoma City with Wichita, Kansas.
“We’ve been talking for quite a while about improving the Heartland Flyer and one of the discussions include extending it up to Newton,” said state Transportation Department spokeswoman Brenda Perry, referring to the Kansas town outside Wichita that is a stop on the Southwest Chief, an Amtrak line running from Chicago to Los Angeles.
On Friday, Amtrak officials ran an inspection train from Oklahoma City to Kansas City to determine the feasibility of one day adding passenger rail service.
Extending the line north to Kansas would require additional state funding, but advocates believe it could actually make money for the state.
“Rather than being a terminal, they can make Oklahoma City and other communities on route destinations for economic development,” said Evan Stair, president of Passenger Rail Oklahoma and Passenger Rail Kansas. “Look at Guthrie and its heritage tourism industry. Look at the potential of amplifying state fortunes with the creation of a stop in Thackerville for the WinStar Casino and Resort.”
Amtrak officials said a northbound line may still be years away, but they believe there is demand for a connection between Wichita and Oklahoma City.
“We are currently running a bus from Newton to Oklahoma City every night and we never suggested that would be the end-all be-all,” said Marc Magliari, a spokesman for Amtrak.
Expanding passenger rail service in Oklahoma could be beneficial to Oklahoma City, which is currently redeveloping the Santa Fe Depot where the Heartland Flyer departs each morning. City officials hope to turn the downtown train station into a transit hub capable of handling additional passenger rail, commuter trains and streetcar service.
“We see this as part of the future and as part of our regional transit planning,” said Jane Abraham, community and government affairs manager for the City of Oklahoma City.
Abraham rode part of Friday’s test run and said expanding Amtrak service would bring more passengers to downtown Oklahoma City who could connect with a larger network of local rail and buses.
While Friday’s train was classified as a “working trip” by Amtrak, it did spur local rallies at towns along the route, including in Edmond and Wichita where local officials expressed their support for the train line.
“We feel that there is a pent-up demand for rail service, particularly in states where there is not a lot of other (rail) transportation,” said Joe McHugh, a vice president with Amtrak.