OPINION PIECE IN NORMAN TRANSCRIPT
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OKC resolution, second line could mean more rail service


A couple of totally unrelated news items in recent weeks may give us a clue about future rail service in central Oklahoma.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe, as part of its mandate for how the City of Norman must design the Robinson Street underpass, will require a platform big enough to support a second track.

That future track could be one that carries commuters from Norman to Oklahoma City and beyond, although no one is committing to such an endeavor.

On Tuesday, Oklahoma City Council members voted to support an application for federal grant money for commuter rail lines. Those lines would carry Oklahomans from Norman to Edmond, to Tinker Air Force Base and then to downtown Oklahoma City.

If approved, the participating cities would be expected to share in the line's maintenance which Oklahoma City believes will amount to less than $1 million a year.

Oklahoma City's action doesn't commit them to any particular plan. Rather, it lets the federal government know they want to be part of any future commuter rail plan.

If it all came together, train travel options in Oklahoma would include a high-speed link between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, an extension of the Heartland Flyer to Newton, Kan., and a commuter line that carried workers from downtown Norman to downtown Oklahoma City and beyond, much like the old Interurban line that ran here years ago.

The Norman Transcript - OKC resolution, second line could mean more rail service