HUTCHINSON,
Kan. (AP) – State transportation officials plan to seek $20 million in
federal funding that could help develop passenger rail service from
Newton to the Oklahoma border.
The money would be used for
upgrades on a freight train route. Kansas is asking for $10 million
from the federal stimulus package and $10 million from the 2010 federal
highway bill.
The Kansas Department of Transportation and Amtrak
are funding a study to determine the feasibility of state-supported
train service from Kansas City, Mo., to Fort Worth, Texas. Officials
expect to complete the study by fall. The route would rely on the
Southwest Chief from Kansas City to Newton, then re-establish a route
into Oklahoma discontinued more than 20 years ago.
“We’re
ecstatic that KDOT is moving forward,” said Deborah Fischer Stout,
president of the Northern Flyer Alliance, a nonprofit organization
promoting development of the route. “Both freight and passenger rail
are part of critical infrastructure needs to improve economic
development.”
The application will specifically target upgrading
signal timing for road crossings between Newton and the state line to
handle 79 mph passenger train speeds, said Ron Kaufman, Transportation
Department chief of public involvement in Topeka.
The signal timing along the route is set for freight trains with top speeds of just 64 mph.
“When
a train approaches a signal, how far in advance the signal activates
depends on the train’s speed,” Kaufman said. “If the train is going
faster, we’ll have to put sensors farther down the track, so the gates
have time to come down and cross-traffic has time to stop.”
The
stimulus grants are more flexible than other federal passenger rail
grant programs because they don’t require matching funds or adoption of
a statewide passenger rail plan. However, Kansas officials also are
working to develop a rail plan, Kaufman said.
Congress
appropriated $9.3 billion in the federal stimulus bill for passenger
trains, of which $1.3 billion is devoted to Amtrak and the remainder to
high-speed rail corridor development, intercity passenger rail and
congestion.
Amtrak announced in March it will devote $1.04
million of its stimulus funding to improvements at the six stations in
Kansas serving the Southwest Chief. The projects include signage,
platform kiosks, wheelchair lifts and platform improvements.
The
legislation makes funding available until September 2010. The Federal
Railroad Administration has until June 17 to write rules for applying
for the money.
“There’s a tremendous amount of competition for
this money,” Kaufman said. “Kansas’ rail program is still in infancy,
while other states with projects are farther along than ours. So it’s
(receiving funding) a big if.”
The Legislature this year
expressed interest in expanded passenger rail but didn’t authorize
funding for operating support, Kaufman said.
Oklahoma lawmakers
on May 14 adopted a resolution supporting Kansas in its plan and
calling for development of a comprehensive rail plan for that state in
order to apply for federal railroad matching funds, said Evan Stair,
vice president for Oklahoma in the Northern Flyer Alliance.