TOPEKA, Kan. — It could cost as much as $573 million for infrastructure work to accommodate an extension of Heartland Flyer service to connect with the Southwest Chief in Newton, Kan., Kansas Department of Transportation officials said today (Dec. 11).
A northward extension of the Oklahoma City-Fort Worth, Texas, train was among 69 possible routes to receive $500,00o for further study last year under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development program [see “Full list of passenger routes …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2024]. Officials hope the extension could come by 2029.
The news site Kansas Reflector reports that the cost would be $311 million — $175 million in Kansas and $136 million in Oklahoma — for the basic infrastructure needs. That rises to $573 million to allow 79-mph running on the full route, Martin Alvarez, KDOT rail project coordinator, told a conference call. The figures do not include operating costs, which would initially be covered by Amtrak and gradually shifted to the states. The Kansas legislature has previously set aside $5 million for the project.
The train would take about 3½ hours for the 198 miles on BNSF’s route between Newton and Oklahoma City, 7½ for the full trip to Fort Worth, according to KDOT. Currently, bus service is available to connect the two routes [see “Heartland Flyer’s challenging connections with the Southwest Chief,” News Wire, July 31, 2023].
Yes, $2.9 million per mile, what would this be spent on?
I take it they are indeed bared from considering some type of joint train arrangement like VIA operates where the locomotive just couples behind the connecting consist and is controlled by the 27 pin MU? I can’t get to the current plan, but a while ago they were proposing to build a maintenance base to turn the equipment instead of operating it through to a larger city.
It seems like such a waste to spend money on developing low-speed passenger routes on freight rights-of-way. The Heartland Flyer, it’s current connection, the Texas Eagle, and it’s proposed connection, the Southwest Chief, all suffer from traffic delays in addition to equipment problems and grade crossing accidents. I realize that the FRA’s Corridor Identification and Development program is just a make-work program for consultants but why not focus on high-speed, grade-separated, dedicated use projects where economically viable?
Who wants to change trains in the middle of the night? This could be avoided by running the train to KC or Chicago, but that would add a lot of train-miles (operating cost) and possibly capital cost as well.
My suggestion would be to run through cars with BOTH the EB and WB Chief at Newton. Cars to/from the West could split from the Chief at La Junta and run to Denver. This would the first Denver-Texas service in a very long time.
Also, add a connecting train from KC to St Paul. On the Sout End extend it to Houston via Dallas. If the SB Flyer met the SB Eagle, passengers could connect at Dallas to travel St Louis-Houston and at Ft Worth to travel KC-San Antonio.
There are certainly some train-miles added, but the number of origin/destination pairs increases dramatically.
Have to agree with Braden and Charles on this one. Why stopping at Newton KS when it should absolutely positively connect at minimum get folks to KC. I can see the Chicago part from there as Charles noted but at a minimum any Amtrak expansion should capture metro areas that offers ridership.
Like John, I also support the Heartland Flyer extension/expansion/and more frequency as one of the better proposals out there if it is extended to KC.
I suppose it doesn’t matter whether this is either BNSF and or UP trackage because either one is the driving force behind the price tag (a lot of upgraded track, signal work and more sidings) When you can find a way for govt to pay for it why not. However, I truly think CPKC and the owners behind Florida East Coast RR (think brightline) are the only ones who sees value in public riding there rails and another future growth opportunity with ever increasing population, crowded freeways and congested airports.
What I find particularly entertaining about all this is that this is just one of the many studies that received the $500,000 grant to study the route. This one, because it involves only about 200 miles of railroad, is probably more accurate than most. Similar for routes like Chicago-Peoria at 161 miles. But one has to wonder about how accurate some of the others might be, especially the lone long-distance route to get the grant, the North Coast Hiawatha. Also $500,000 but for 2,300 miles, with about two-thirds of it “new” route miles. And considering that the entities who got the money get to choose who makes the studies, not only are the results likely to be fantastically different (relatively speaking), but the amount of detail would be different, too.
In my opinion, a reinstatement of a Chicago-Texas train of some kind (terminus of Fort Worth or San Antonio) is the only “new” long-distance route that makes sense simply because most of the infrastructure (including stations) is in place. But $573 million for just this 200 miles! The cost to upgrade the dark railroad alone between Auburn and Pasco in Washington (227 miles over the Cascades) would be exponentially more.
We all know that few if any of these new trains are likely to happen, but don’t dismiss the entertainment value of the studies, because they likely will vary widely on emphasis and cost.
2029 is ridiculous. And if the Mobile AL. startup fiasco is any indicator, 2039 is more likely. The reason for Newton, is that the situation is available NOW. All this talk and study is NONSENSE!!
Also, the posted southbound schedule which claims 22min from Newton is not possible. Even at the 90mph running by the Lone Star train back in the day.
I don’t see thus ever happening.
Over the next four or so years, there’s little if any hope of any expansion of Amtrak services. Come 2028 we’ll be lucky to have the Amtrak that we now have . Just sayin’ . . . . . .
Newton KS? Hey there’s a city called … Ya know Kansas City.. In Missouri … Maybe it would also connect to the River Runners and the SW……
There’s also a city named Chicago, in Illinois. Run the train all the way there, rather than depend on some dodgy connection of a late-running train from Los Angeles in the middle of the night.
A connection with the Southwest Chief at Newton would be unreliable. Sometimes the Chief runs on time, but often it does not. Just today, December 11th, No. 3 was nine hours late into Barstow apparently due to engine failure. A BNSF replacement engine was leading (I viewed the arrival on Virtual Railfan). A dedicated Fort Worth-Oklahoma City-Chicago train like the former Texas Chief would be the ideal solution in an ideal world.
That’s a lot of money for a 79 mph train. Wonder what the cost would be for a 90 mph train. I still support the idea nevertheless.