A couple of railway ideas have pulled into the station in Oklahoma. It'll be interesting to see whether anyone climbs aboard.
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One is the prospect of a commuter rail line in the Oklahoma City area as part of the city's future mass transit plan. The commuter service would link Edmond and Norman with downtown, and would be part of a plan that includes better bus service, a modern streetcar for downtown, and perhaps bus rapid transit to serve the airport and selected city corridors.
The package carries a price tag of at least $394 million; the commuter rail portion would cost an estimated $234 million, with operating costs of $9.7 million annually. Such a commuter line might work — anyone who has driven to or from Norman or Edmond at rush hour knows what a hassle that is. Still, it would have to be a huge success to justify those start-up and maintenance costs.
We have similar concerns about extending passenger rail service from Oklahoma City to Kansas. Ridership on Amtrak's Heartland Flyer between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth has been strong — up 17 percent for the 10 months ending July 31, compared with the same period last year. Now the Kansas legislature has ordered a study to determine what it would take to connect rail service from Oklahoma City to Newton, Kan., where the train could then connect with an existing Amtrak route to Kansas City.
Sounds appealing. But who would pay? Oklahoma and Texas each already spend $2 million per year to help operate the Heartland Flyer. Doubling the length of the route would place operating costs at more than $4 million per year. And that doesn't include start-up costs.
Riding the train is fun, but the decision on whether to expand rail service needs to be based on much more than that.
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Fun? Shame on the Oklahoman! Have you ever been stuck on I-35 once in your life? Editor Ed Kelley doesn't use a white cane, wheelchair, walker or let alone use public transit. Why does the Oklahoman put down rail or nix the idea of it? (Rail industry doesn't buy enough ads to support the paper like the auto industry does) Why does Ed Kelley worry about the price tag on rail, but doesn't want to look at the highway figures? Four million out of almost a two billion dollar transportation budget is nothing to scream about. We don't see Ed Kelly screaming about the Crosstown do we? I'm all for the Heartland Flyer going to Kansas, passenger rail, commuter trains, and supporting our state and nation for better modes of transportation. Ed Kelley needs to get on board.
Four million dollars is a drop in the bucket with regard to the State's $1.5 to $1.7 billion annual budget. It seems that the Oklahoman likes to lump "fun" in with rail. Rail is a transportation mode. If treated as such the state would be getting more bang for its buck by connecting Tulsa with Oklahoma City and Kansas City with Fort Worth through the Kansas Department of Transportation initiative. Has anyone at the Oklahoman checked fuel prices lately? How about airline fares (including those practices that now force us to pay for checked baggage.) Maybe Kansas has the right idea.
I'm not paying for it if it just goes to Edmond and Norman. It needs to go to Shawnee and Yukon or Mustang also. That's bull to just hook up north and south and not east and west!
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Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.