Extending Amtrak's Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to near Wichita makes sense, lawmaker says, but the problem will be finding state dollars to pay for it.
NewsOK
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT
Published: October 15, 2010
Extending passenger rail service to Kansas appears the next logical step in making Amtrak's existing Heartland Flyer service between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, a more effective transportation option, a state lawmaker said Thursday.
But Rep. Richard Morrissette, after hearing from transportation and railroad officials in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas during a three-hour interim legislative study, said the state, still struggling to recover from an economic downturn, will have a hard time coming up with money to pay its share of the route.
It would help if Oklahomans got more excited about the proposed route, but so far few outside railroad buffs and residents along the proposed route are on board.
"When the public begins to vibrate on an issue, we jump into action," said Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City. "And there's no vibration on this issue." FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Fri, October 15, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski