Kayleigh Peterson knows her trains. Over winter break, she and her boyfriend, Chris, took the passenger rail line, Amtrak, from Kansas City, Mo. to Chicago to see Lady Gaga perform.

As a kid, Peterson, a junior from Overland park, said she also rode various trains on the West Coast and has spent time in Europe, where her main mode of transportation was the local railway.

“It’s so much more convenient and a much more comfortable way to travel,” said Peterson. “In the winter, especially, it’s a lot more reliable than driving or flying.”

But because there aren’t many local options to passenger rail, she said she doesn’t use it often.

Kansas rail systems, however, may soon improve on a local and national scale.

National proportions

On Jan. 31, President Barack Obama proposed an $8 billion plan through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for an expanded high-speed and inter-city passenger rail in an effort to reduce congestion on highways between larger cities, reduce transportation emissions and create job opportunities.

“That investment is how we can break ground across the country, putting people to work building high-speed rail lines,” President Obama said in a Jan. 28 press release. “Because there’s no reason why Europe or China should have the fastest trains when we can build them right here in America.”

In total, 31 states, including Kansas, and the District of Columbia will receive money.

Not only will there be 13 new train corridors, but the U.S. Department of Transportation will also award several grants for improvement and plannnig projects. Kansas, along with many other states in the Midwest, will be receiving one of these grants.

The Midwest is receiving $2.61 billion to fund projects, like a high-speed line from Kansas City, Mo. to St. Louis and additions to the line from Oklahoma City to Newton to Kansas City, Mo.

“Expanded rail service throughout the U.S. is unquestionably a good thing from an environmental perspective,” said Robert Hagen, lecturer in the Environment Studies Program. “The problem is how to overcome the political and economic barriers that block the transition from our current systems.”

State-wide

Tom Hein, public affairs manager for the Kansas Department of Transportation, said the state doesn’t know when they are going to be able to fund additions to the passenger rail line in Kansas.

“The timetable is really hard to pin down on this,” Hein said.

However, KDOT commissioned Amtrak to do a study to find the best place to lay tracks. The department expects results from the study this month.

“It’s not a service that’s really inducive for Kansans to use really at all,” Hein said of the passenger rail services currently available in Kansas. “The proposal is to somehow tie into Newton with this train. Or maybe it will be a stand-alone.”

State Sen. Dick Kelsey said he thought expanding rail service would be a positive thing for Kansas.

The current plan is to expand the existing line that runs from Ft. Worth, Texas, to Oklahoma City and continue it up to Newton. There are currently six rail stations in Kansas, including the one located in Lawrence.

KDOT also received a $250,000 grant Sunday, which is included in the ARRA funds. The state will have to match this amount in order to put together a Service Development Plan for potential expanded passenger rail service in Kansas.

“After the Amtrak study and the Service Development Plan are completed, we will provide the reports to the Legislature, who ultimately will determine whether the proposed expansion of rail service can be funded,” said Transportation Secretary Deb Miller in a press release.

Hein said the possibility of expansion and funding will rely heavily on the results of the Amtrak study.

In addition, Senate Bill 409, before the Senate Transportation Committee, would develop a state passenger rail program. The bill would provide a way for KDOT to attain additional federal grants and it would require the Legislature to approve any state funding for the program.

Lawrence is currently one of 55 cities in Kansas that has signed on to support the bill.

City-centered

A separate study of Wichita conducted by Jayhawk Consulting, a group of MBA students at the University, indicates a local economic incentive for additional passenger rail in Kansas.

The study said the proposed Amtrak train line that would run through Wichita could possibly generate $3.20 in regional economic impact for every dollar invested.

The study estimated the line would rake in 7,295 new riders for the Lawrence Amtrak station, 413 East 7th St., and that each rider stopping in Lawrence would spend around $35, garnering approximately $251,830 for the local economy.

“Overall economic impact shows a break-even return after the first year with a continuing $43 million annual impact,” concluded a summary of the study.

Hein said the passenger rail services in Lawrence are currently only available in the middle of the night, which poses some inconveniences.

“There are people who do it,” he said. “But it’s three o’clock in the morning for God’s sake.”

While it will take time to see what the long term effects and benefits of additional passenger rail throughout Kansas and the Midwest will be, Peterson said she is looking forward to seeing the results.

She said she would “definitely use it” as it was a more cost efficient way to travel.

“$100 for a round trip is a lot cheaper,” Peterson said. “$50 just to Chicago is like a tank and a half of gas.”

— Edited by Allyson Shaw