Posted on 03/10/2010 2:05:54 PM PST by Willie Green
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas House has given initial approval to a measure laying the foundation for expanded passenger rail service through the state.
The bill would establish a passenger rail program and fund within the Kansas Department of Transportation. It also authorizes the transportation secretary to enter agreements with Amtrak or other carriers to expand service through Kansas.
House members advanced the bill on Wednesday to final action, which is expected Thursday.
Kansas is among several states working to expand Amtrak service in the Midwest. Supporters say the bill would help expand service from Kansas City to Dallas.
The legislation would enable KDot to continue developing the passenger rail line and seek federal funds to establish the route.
More choo-choos in flyover country!!!
another tax dollar sucking black hole
The idea behind this is to get the Heartland Flyer connected with the rest of the network. At present it runs from Fort Worth to Oklahoma City, which doesn't do very much good. By extending it north to Wichita and Kansas City, it connects with other Amtrak routes.
I found a good online map of these routes here.
What you say makes a lot of sense, because right now the Heartland Flyer is just a stubbly little dead-end route.
Tell me, after reaching KC, do you know if there are any plans to extend it even further north???
Going up through Lincoln/Omaha and on to Minneapolis/St Paul look like obvious destinations.
The kind of thinking in which you are engaging is supported by an organization called URPA, based in Jacksonville, FL. The late Adrian Herzog designed a route map for URPA that included diagonal routes and L-shaped routes that would maximize equipment usage. I don't know if Herzog's paper is posted at the URPA website or not, but his ideas make more sense than Amtrak's.
About the only thing in Amtrak's future plan is a return of the Pioneer and some kind of service linking Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
About the only thing in Amtrak's future plan is a return of the Pioneer and some kind of service linking Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Well I am personally disappointed that they haven't yet reopened the Gulf Coast route of the Sunset Ltd to Florida.
Council Considers New Orleans To Florida Line
I wanted to take that one from Houston to Fla last New Year's to attend one of the college football bowl games.
It was a No-Go when I discovered I had to switch trains in Chicago.
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What Amtrak is doing is asking Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to finance the restoration of the route. This is a blatant change of policy because Amtrak has never before demanded a state subsidy for one of its long distance routes. The states are holding out, demanding Amtrak restore service for free, because that's what Amtrak always did before the 2005 disruption. The states don't want the precedent of basing long distance routes on state subsidies.
You'll note that Amtrak has not extended the Heartland Flyer on its own, but has waited for Kansas to come up with money to finish the link. This is all part of the game.
Here is Adrian Herzog's master plan for Amtrak routes. I think it agrees with some of your desires.
Thanks. I am not familiar with Dr. Herzog, but I found someone posted some YouTubes of his lectures here: Dr Herzog explains Rail Passenger Matrix Theory Part 1
I admit I haven't studied the route maps adequately to fully digest his Matrix theory. I'm just pointing out what seems to be logical, regional routes that need to be connected.
Ambitious plan indeed. I particularly note the 22 trains in Florida, with only 3 taking the Ocala route (up from our current zero). With all of that they don’t restore the famous ‘Orange Blossom Special’, the Chicago - Atlanta - Miami route Al Capone used to take. I see they do have a Chicago - South Carolina - Florida route. At the age of 67 I don’t think I’ll be making any plans for using this service.
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