TULSA, Okla. — It is hard to stop a train. It is apparently equally as hard to get one started.
"I thought that was a very good idea," Tulsan Mark Williams said, "I was wondering what was taking them so long for it to get here."
The Federal Railroad Administration is conducting a new study with the possibility of adding more Amtrak routes. Part of that could connect Oklahoma’s metros by rail.
- Previous coverage >>> Advocacy group works to bring back passenger rail in Tulsa
Williams, whom 2 News met at the bus station, could rekindle a childhood experience.
"My daddy told me when I was little, they did have a train coming from here, and we rode the train coming to Tulsa," Williams said.
He’s full steam ahead on the idea. Others, like Kelly Harbuck, are skeptical.
"Tulsa is too small," Harbuck said.
And cost is on many people’s minds.
"How you gonna do the pricing on the tickets and stuff? That’s what I wonder," Doane Thomas said.
The OKC to Tulsa proposal would be an extension of the existing Heartland Flyer. Running from downtown OKC to Fort Worth, Texas.
On that route, round-trip coach tickets will run people about $70.
"We’d have a little more traffic, probably have a little more business to Tulsa," Williams said on the possibility of the new route.
The 200-mile journey from OKC to Fort Worth would run about the same in gas for a car that gets 20 miles per gallon. It could keep miles off someone’s personal car, or they would have to call an Uber to get to a hotel. There is also the timing aspect.
"Try to keep the schedules on time and make sure it’s kind of convenient to get on and off the train," Williams advised.
Those are just a few of the factors to consider. At best, it would be about ten years before this could happen. The FRA is looking for input from tribes, government leaders, and citizens. Until then, four wheels on the Turner Turnpike will have to do the trick.
The FRA has a public comment section online. Click this link and scroll to the bottom.
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