[OKC] Proposed passenger rail line between Midwest City, Bricktown gains steam

[Shauna Struby]

Proposed passenger rail line between Midwest City, Bricktown gains steam

Wednesday, June 03, 2009
By Heide Brandes

Passenger rail isn't a new concept in the Oklahoma City metro area, but when
President Barack Obama announced plans in April to spend $8 billion of the
$787 billion federal stimulus money on high-speed rail, suddenly that old
concept got a breath of new life.

The Federal Railroad Administration has identified 10 passenger rail
projects around the country, including one that links Little Rock, Ark., to
Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and then on to Texas with stops in Dallas-Fort Worth,
Austin and San Antonio.

But another short-line rail project may be ahead of the pack. It's the
little rail line that could - a stretch of state-owned rail and right-of-way
that stretches from Tinker Air Force Base/Midwest City into Bricktown. And,
if all logistics fall into place, this commuter rail could be a concept that
is close to reality.

Why? Before stimulus money was even part of the mix, a plan to purchase
abandoned rail lines in Oklahoma put this little jaunt of a railroad in
prime position to be a stimulus grant project.

But, according to new Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley, "All
interested parties have to come together on this."

Excpert from this weeks' Ok Gazette. More here ::: http://bit.ly/JatYW 

 

 

::: shauna lawyer struby

 

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