Federal officials award $500K to support Oklahoma-Kansas passenger rail expansion project

Officials are celebrating a $500,000 federal grant that will help explore the feasibility of expanding Oklahoma’s existing passenger rail service into Kansas.

Supporters said the funding is a first step in restoring rail service between Oklahoma City and Kansas in an effort to increase options for residents who have long lived in transportation deserts.

The Federal Railroad Administration has included the proposed Heartland Flyer passenger line expansion in its new Corridor Identification and Development Program created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The designation gives Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas officials access to funding needed to craft a service development plan aimed at expanding rail service over 185 miles from Oklahoma City to Newton, Kansas, said Bryce Boyer, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Newton is about 27 miles north of Wichita.

The existing rail service, which is operated by Amtrak, runs from Fort Worth, Texas, to Oklahoma City. It stops in Norman, Purcell, Pauls Valley and Ardmore and Gainesville, Texas.

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The proposed expansion would add stops in Edmond, Perry and Ponca City and in the Kansas cities of Arkansas City, Wichita and Newton. Riders would have easier access to the national east-west Amtrak network, officials said.

The grant includes a $25,000 match from both Kansas and Oklahoma, Boyer said. Once the service plan is completed next year, officials plan to apply for additional federal funding to complete an environmental impact study and preliminary engineering study, he said.

It’s not yet known how much the expansion would cost, Boyer said.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said earlier this year that he’d met privately with Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. secretary of transportation, to advocate for the expansion.

At the time, he said Buttigieg urged the Republican governor to continue working with his Democratic counterpart in Kansas.

Stitt’s office didn’t immediately comment on the award, but Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly celebrated the news.

“The extension of the Heartland Flyer Passenger Rail would further connect Kansans to Oklahoma City and North Central Texas, unlocking business, educational, and cultural opportunities to Kansans and enabling our neighbors to the south to add to the Kansas economy,” she said in a press release. “One of Kansas’ greatest assets is that we are in the center of the country, which is why my administration has supported rail projects like this to build on that strength.”

Kansas transportation officials said the rail route was discontinued nearly 44 years ago. The proposed extension would connect six of the country’s 50 most populous cities.

Oklahoma state Rep. Ken Luttrell, R-Ponca City, who is co-chair of the legislative Passenger Rail Caucus, said he’s been working on the expansion since 2007. He said Monday that he’s “ecstatic and excited” that the project is finally moving forward.

“We’re closer than we’ve ever been to restoring passenger rail service to north-central Oklahoma,” Luttrell said. “It still might be a long time coming before we see any construction or any details come out, but certainly being one of the corridors that they’re looking at and approved for study is a great step in the right direction.”

Luttrell said much of north-central Oklahoma is a transportation desert with no airlines or bus service. He said that makes it difficult for senior citizens and people with younger families that want to travel. He also said the expansion would be an economic boon for towns along the route.

“All the mayors are super excited,” Luttrell said. “And we have blanketed Washington, D.C., with letters of support for this project.”

Janelle Stecklein is editor of Oklahoma Voice. An award-winning journalist, Stecklein has been covering Oklahoma government and politics since moving to the state in 2014.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Officials to use $500K grant to study passenger rail between OK, KS