Passenger Rail Oklahoma-Kansas - Reboot

Evan Stair is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

!!! THINK BIG !!!

TULSA - WICHITA - KANSAS CITY - MINNEAPOLIS - HOUSTON - CHICAGO

In August 2001 a group of volunteers assembled at the Norman, Oklahoma Santa Fe Railway Depot to begin assisting Amtrak's Heartland Flyer passengers. Our efforts were so successful that we launched two new volunteer organizations - Passenger Rail Oklahoma and Passenger Rail Kansas.

In time, our regional grass roots efforts led to the establishment of a 2012 legislatively directed Eastern Flyer (Tulsa-Oklahoma City) Passenger Rail Development Task Force - Oklahoma Statute §66-323.1 , the Kansas Passenger Rail Program Act of 2010 - Kansas Statute 75-5089 (2010), and release of an official 2010 Amtrak Kansas-Oklahoma-Texas study commissioned by the Kansas legislature. Momentum continued in 2011 with the release of a Kansas-Oklahoma-Texas Service Development Plan.

These achievements were possible only through the good graces of those who believed we had the skills to succeed and of course our own pocketbooks. In this Silver Anniversary year of the Heartland Flyer, official progress has stalled, but there is still hope:

Tulsa expansion is excluded from state led regional passenger rail development.
Kansas expansion is moving, but only at a snails pace.
Kansas vision is abysmal: The timeline is too long, the route is too short, and the proposed hours of operation unacceptable.
Hope: Findings of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Amtrak Long-Distance Service Study will require a sophisticated grass roots campaign to advance beyond concept. Note: TULSA and WICHITA are included in the developing investigation.

We believe additional public oversight is essential to restart regional passenger rail development, but our task list is daunting. We need staff and financial support to grow. Here is a short list of our needs:

1. Hiring a full time social media staffer.

2. Continuing PassengerRailOK.org and PassengerRailKS.org website payments.

3. Establishment of non-profit 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organizations.

4. Travel expenses to visit the Oklahoma, Kansas, and U.S. capitals.

5. Travel expenses in the region for public presentations and outreach.

6. Office tools and office consumables.

We want to better serve you as a powerful voice of change. Simply put, we need your support to grow. Please kindly consider a generous donation.

Sincerely,

Evan Stair

President

Passenger Rail Oklahoma

Passenger Rail Kansas

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Here are some items of recent importance:

§§§§§§§§§ KJRH TV - No Immediate Plans for Tulsa Passenger Rail §§§§§§§§§

"We are told by the City of Tulsa and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation they have no immediate plans to bring passenger rail to the Tulsa area."

- KJRH TV's Karen Larsen December 20, 2023

§§§§§§§§§ Kansas Vision Lacking §§§§§§§§§

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) provided a presentation in 2023 that showed just how passenger rail efforts are failing. For example, the only option on the table for regional expansion is a 197-mile Heartland Flyer route extension. Best case, this won't happen until 2029. KDOT and Amtrak must do better. The timeline is too long, the route is too short, and the proposed hours of operation unacceptable.

Heartland Flyer "Newton Terminal" Expansion Timeline

Proposed Heartland Flyer and Southwest Chief Connection Timetable

Our vision is a daylight Kansas City-Fort Worth daylight operation as proposed in the 2010 Amtrak study. See the proposed timetable below:

§§§§§§§§§ Bright Spot - Amtrak Long Distance Service Study §§§§§§§§§

The FRA Amtrak Long Distance Service Study represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to expand passenger rail services in the nation. Long-distance routes are those defined as greater than 750-miles in length 49 US Code 24102 Definitions . These are today supported through federal, not state dollars. Even if you do not donate, please consider using the comment form at the bottom of the study home page to let your voice be heard.