Partners study passenger rail service between OKC and Newton, Kansas with $500,000 grant

Guthrie, Oklahoma is one step closer to becoming a stop on an expanded route for Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer, which currently travels between Ft. Worth and Oklahoma City. The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded funding to the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to create a Service Development Plan for expansion of that route from Oklahoma City north to Newton, Kansas.

This expansion would include stops at Edmond, Guthrie, Perry and Ponca City. Mayor Steve Gentling notes, “Guthrie administration has been working hard with the Northern Flyer Alliance in Kansas for a number of years in promoting this great opportunity to restore passenger rail service. We have made presentations concerning our capacity, have provided support for a ‘Return on Investment’ study, and submitted a number of letters supporting this endeavor.

City Manager Eddie Faulkner adds, “ The funding for the Service Development Plan, which is expected to be completed in 2024, is an important step in the process. Once completed, there will be federal funding requests for environmental impact studies and preliminary engineering studies. The process is slow, but it is moving, and we are excited!”

Justin Fortney, City Tourism Director, reflected, “This expansion north to Newton, Kansas joins a major East/West rail corridor and opens all of the country to passenger rail access to Guthrie as a tourism destination.”