Biden’s $2T jobs and infrastructure plan could bring Amtrak back to Wichita
President Joe Biden’s sprawling jobs and infrastructure package could bring passenger rail service back to Wichita.
In response to Biden’s $2 trillion proposal Wednesday, Amtrak released new plans to expand and update routes if the proposal, which includes $80 billion for passenger and freight railways, passes Congress. The Amtrak plan calls for the creation of 30 new routes and extending service to up to 160 new communities, including a north-south line that would connect Wichita to Oklahoma City and other population hubs.
Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said Thursday that Amtrak service “would be a huge economic boon” for Wichita because a stop would not only bring additional travel options to residents and help keep airline ticket prices down, it would tie the city to Texas, home to one of the world’s largest economies.
“That little connection opens up a ton of opportunities for our city,” Whipple said.
“It’s just an all-around quality-of-life initiative that we’ve been working on for years and now, if things go well, could be a reality.”
Biden’s jobs and infrastructure plan is his next major policy priority following his expansive COVID-19 relief package passed last month. But it faces an uncertain path unless the president can win over GOP support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for most legislation. And it’s currently unclear exactly when, or if, Congress will take up the proposal.
Amtrak, a quasi-public entity that receives state and federal subsidies but is run as a for-profit corporation, says if the funding passes, the routes included in its proposed expansion would be up and running by 2035.
“Amtrak has a bold vision to bring energy-efficient, world-class intercity rail service to up to 160 new communities across the nation, as we also invest in our fleet and stations across the US,” Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said in a statement. “With this federal investment, Amtrak will create jobs and improve equity across cities, regions, and the entire country— and we are ready to deliver.”
It’s been decades since Amtrak has run through Wichita. It ended its route to the city in 1979 after the Carter Administration instituted massive cuts to passenger train service amid the energy crisis of the late seventies. Back then, Wichita was part of the north-south running Lone Star route, which connected Houston and Chicago. At the time, Wichita ranked eighth out of 21 in terms of fleet ridership.
According to The Eagle’s news archives, the move was unpopular for pushing more Wichitans and others to use gas-guzzling vehicles for quick trips to Kansas City or Oklahoma City that otherwise could have been taken by train. Since then, the cost of reestablishing service has been a deterrent on the state and local levels, officials say.
Currently the closest station to Wichita is in Newton, which is part of an east-west route that connects Los Angeles to Chicago. In Kansas, there are also Amtrak stops in Lawrence, Topeka, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City.
Since the railway provider left Wichita, several lawmakers and residents alike have pushed for Amtrak’s comeback, including Sedgwick County Commissioner Pete Meitzner, who said he’s heard overwhelming support for a Wichita stop from constituents.
“An aging population wants to drive less and travel still. Youth are buying cars later and they still want to travel. It allows you to work instead of driving,” Meitzner said of passenger train service.
“Amtrak has looked at this and they think that the numbers and the ridership would be very beneficial.”
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, who represents the Kansas City, also supports expanding passenger railway service in the Midwest.
“On the East Coast, nobody thinks twice about hopping on a train in Washington and going to New York… Nobody thinks about going to the airport,” he said.
“We’d reduce the air traffic and reduce the highway traffic. So I think we need to embrace more and more rail in the Midwest. We probably need it more than the East Coast.”
But the majority of Kansas’ congressional delegation is unlikely to be on board with the Biden infrastructure plan that could make Amtrak service in Wichita a reality.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, in a prepared statement posted on his website, blasted the president’s proposal as an overly expensive package that “raises taxes and places burdensome regulations on the American people.” His office declined to comment specifically on the railway portion of Biden’s plan.
“This bill is just another ploy to spend your money, raise your taxes, and increase regulations,” Marshall’s statement said. “All Kansans should be concerned as this is a recipe to kill the economy at a time when our nation is still recovering from COVID.”
Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas, whose district includes Wichita, said in a written statement he thinks the “Democrats’ Green New Deal agenda is not good for hardworking Americans.” But he said it was “encouraging to see Amtrak’s desire to connect the Heartland Flyer to the Southwest Chief in their proposed map.”
Estes and the other three House members from Kansas—Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids and GOP Reps. Tracey Mann and Jake LaTurner—sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about he importance of rail service in Kansas.
“The Southwest Chief provides transportation access for over four million riders in 325 communities across 40 states,” the letter said.
“From Chicago to Los Angeles, and to our home in Kansas in between, the Southwest Chief is an affordable link for Americans to travel across the country. Investing in expansion of this route offers an opportunity to provide much-needed jobs and lift up rural communities that are devastated by job losses as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 3:04 PM.
