Federal Study Explores New Passenger Rail Links From OKC To Tulsa And Beyond

Oklahoma transportation leaders have worked to expand passenger rail travel in the state.

The Federal Railway Administration is looking at another option that could connect OKC to Tulsa and beyond. State transportation leaders said building a new route for passenger rail travel takes careful planning. The proposed route to Newton Kansas is in its early development stages.

“We wanna make sure everything can flow smoothly,” said Jared Schwennesen, a multimodal division engineer with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. “It takes us about a decade to get a project from the start all the way to completion.”

Schwennesen said Oklahoma is currently operating a service and development plan for the Amtrak Heartland Flyer expansion route.

“To actually define this more; work with the railroad to see how much capacity is needed,” Schwennesen said.

Last fall President Joe Biden announced $16 billion in railroad investments. The Federal Railroad Administration has a long-distance study with a proposed route from OKC through Tulsa, St. Louis, and Indianapolis.

“Studying to see how much it could possibly cost along with if these are viable routes and if people would like to take them,” Schwennesen said.

For now, they are conducting a strategy to roll passengers into Kansas.

“Not everybody has a car,” Schwennesen said. “Not everybody wants to drive. It just gives you access to more out there.”

Schwennesen said providing travel options keeps OKC on the right track.

“We want to make people have the opportunity to get where they where they need to go to help our economy, and make sure people are flowing and make sure the money is flowing,” Schwennesen said.

Schwennesen said the early 2030s is the estimated timeline for a Kansas route. He said they should have a cost estimate by June of this year.