OKC Commuter Rail

[BoulderSooner]

Update from The Edmond Sun



I really hope they do this. Hopefully we will eventually get light-rail, but I guess baby steps are better than nothing. I am just worried this study will lead to another study or it won't go anywhere at all. It seems ODOT loves to do studies but when it comes time to build it, well........ that's another story.

Hopefully this ends with the formation of an RTA and commuter rail north south and east from Okc.

[AP]

I really hope they do this. Hopefully we will eventually get light-rail, but I guess baby steps are better than nothing. I am just worried this study will lead to another study or it won't go anywhere at all. It seems ODOT loves to do studies but when it comes time to build it, well........ that's another story.

I'm pretty sure this would be independent of ODOT, and it seems that this is something the central governments are really pushing for.

[OKCisOK4me]

Update from The Edmond Sun



I really hope they do this. Hopefully we will eventually get light-rail, but I guess baby steps are better than nothing. I am just worried this study will lead to another study or it won't go anywhere at all. It seems ODOT loves to do studies but when it comes time to build it, well........ that's another story.

The secret is not to let ODOT in on this. It needs to be funded via federal money and money from the cities that are to be on the routes. ODOT would just screw things up like they always do.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S5

[Just the facts]

I'm pretty sure this would be independent of ODOT, and it seems that this is something the central governments are really pushing for.

Correct, this an ACOG project.

Regional Transit Dialogue | ACOG | Association of Central Oklahoma Governments

Here is the ACOG Youtube channel with lots of meeting videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/acogok

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm pretty sure this would be independent of ODOT, and it seems that this is something the central governments are really pushing for.

That is a relief!

[Bullbear]

ODOT completes $75M sale of railroad track | www.krmg.com

[OKCisOK4me]

30 mph.... WOWZERS! lol

[Bullbear]

30 mph.... WOWZERS! lol

60 once upgrades are complete. but still not 300mph high speed rail.
will be interesting to see this progress. .I am just curious how much "traffic" it will really have.

[OKCisOK4me]

I read that. ;-)

[OKCisOK4me]

...and I agree with you about the "traffic".

[FighttheGoodFight]

Unless it is faster and comparable to paying for gas I do not see this getting much traffic at all.

All I want is a rail from Tulsa to Dallas.

[shawnw]

if it went from downtown OKC to downtown Tulsa, even at 60MPH, I'd take it often for weekend getaways to Tulsa...

[David]

Trial passenger train service to start next year, linking Tulsa and OKC metros - KJRH Tulsa

[Bullbear]

if it went from downtown OKC to downtown Tulsa, even at 60MPH, I'd take it often for weekend getaways to Tulsa...

BNSF still controls the tracks that get it to downtown Tulsa and to Downtown OKC. the "Friends of the easter Flyer" page on facebook has posted BNSF contact information wanting folks to write to them saying they would love commuter rail to reach downtown in both cities. they post some interesting stuff.

[Eddie1]

Not sure how successful this will be unless it goes fully into the downtown areas of each respective city.

[Zuplar]

I read about this yesterday and was highly disappointed. Even at 60mph IMO it is a waste of time, it won't be used. I'd rather have the flexibility of a car. Now get that train going from downtown to downtown at least 100mph, and now we have something worth a damn.

[Teo9969]

I read about this yesterday and was highly disappointed. Even at 60mph IMO it is a waste of time, it won't be used. I'd rather have the flexibility of a car. Now get that train going from downtown to downtown at least 100mph, and now we have something worth a damn.

If it's a work trip, may very well be worth it. Lots of work that could be done on the train that can't be done driving to and fro.

[TheTravellers]

If it's a work trip, may very well be worth it. Lots of work that could be done on the train that can't be done driving to and fro.

I was so incredibly productive (well, reading MOJO magazine, but that's productive, just not work-wise) when I rode the train for 25-30 minutes each way each day when I was in Chicagoland, so yeah, an hour not having to worry about all the slow-a** trucks passing each other going uphill every 5 minutes and the construction and and and ..... would be wonderful. We'd probably go to Tulsa more often than we do (yearly, pretty much) if there was rail.

[OKCisOK4me]

Yes, 60 is much better than 30. At 30mph, passengers are gonna run out of stuff to do. BNSF needs to allow rail rights on their tracks, otherwise, it's plain pointless.

[David]

Committee Recommends Rail Transit Options for Central Oklahoma

Since 2009, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments’ (ACOG) Regional Transit Dialogue (RTD) has been exploring the feasibility of expanding regional public transportation in Central Oklahoma. Comprised of leaders from the public and private sectors, a 37-member Steering Committee chaired by Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, has worked with ACOG and project consultants URS on the $1.25 million Commuter Corridors Study to further analyze three prospective transit corridors identified in the 2005 Regional Fixed Guideway Study. On Thursday, July 17th, the RTD Steering Committee formalized its consensus on locally preferred alternatives (LPAs)—the favored transit routes and modes per corridor stemming from study analysis, public input, and community preferences.



Regional Transit Dialogue RTD ACOG MPO Region Central Oklahoma OKC Oklahoma City Edmond Norman Village Nichols Hills Edmond Norman Midwest City MWC Del City Tinker Air Force Base TAFB Commuter Rail Streetcar
Click to view a full regional transit locally preferred alternatives map

The North Corridor, connecting downtown Edmond with the downtown Oklahoma City Santa Fe Intermodal Hub, was recommended to be served by commuter rail. Existing BNSF right-of-way would be utilized wherever possible along the 14-mile alignment. Additionally, a five-mile extension of the MAPS3 streetcar is recommended to run along Classen Boulevard from NW 10th and Walker Avenue to provide a connection to a future commuter rail station near the Chesapeake Energy campus. Capital costs for commuter rail are estimated between $260 million and $360 million, with the streetcar route expansion estimated between $270 million and $370 million. Ongoing operating and maintenance costs are estimated at $5 million/year for the commuter rail and $2.5 million/year for the streetcar extension.

The South Corridor recommendation would connect the downtown Oklahoma City Santa Fe Intermodal Hub and Norman extending to State Highway 9 via commuter rail. Existing BNSF right-of-way would be used as available along the 17-mile route. The combined alignments of the North and South Corridors would allow for a one-seat ride between Norman and Edmond. Capital costs for this commuter rail between Norman and Oklahoma City are estimated between $310 million and $410 million, with an estimated annual operating and maintenance cost of $5.5 million/year.

The East Corridor recommendation would connect Tinker Air Force Base, Midwest City and Del City to the downtown Oklahoma City Santa Fe Intermodal Hub via streetcar and would need to include development of an internal circulator on Tinker Air Force Base. Capital costs for this 9-mile streetcar are estimated between $320 million and $440 million. This alignment would make use of abandoned railroad right-of-way in Midwest City and use Reno Avenue to provide direct access to the intermodal hub for connections to the MAPS3 streetcar and future commuter rail services to Edmond and Norman.

At present time, funding has not been secured to build and launch these locally preferred alternatives. However, the RTD Steering Committee’s next step is to address the structure and formation of a regional transit authority—a new entity which could provide governance to expand and operate a regional transit system for Central Oklahoma. A regional transit authority would be created under the framework provided by HB 2480, signed into law by Governor Fallin on May 22nd.

While it could be at least 20 years before a fully operational regional transit system is established in Central Oklahoma, the RTD Steering Committee’s leadership and foresight have strategically positioned the region for a prosperous and competitive future through high-capacity transit investments.

[shawnw]

Awesome!

I wished so badly to have the Tinker portion when I worked at Tinker for so many years.

While I like the idea of a streetcar extension going up Classen, I would almost rather incentivize CPK to move downtown and save those capital costs... pipe dream I know.

[Teo9969]

Incentivize CHK to move downtown and leave a gaping hole in OKC? the Belle Isle/Penn Square/CHK/CC-NHP area is huge…outside of Downtown and Tinker, it is probably the most important area of the city, particularly because of its proximity to Nichols Hills and the bridge it creates to the entire NW side. Honestly, it's the first thing of all of the recommendations that they should build, because everything on that path is far more ripe for development than just about anywhere in the city.

Kind of sad to see they didn't mention anything about Capitol Hill…

All in all, the total is $1.16B to $1.58B

How much of that tab would the Feds be willing to pick up?

[David]

Bill Information for HB 2480 in case anyone is interested in the bill mentioned towards the end of the article.

[Urban Pioneer]

SW Aviator and I have worked on the two bills for several years. We are thrilled that it finally made it through. We had UN Agenda 21 people coming after us thinking that it was some sort of world conspiracy.

The initial bill gave us the ability to form an RTA, but it wasn't sophisticated enough to tailor the district boundaries to the constituents that would most likely need the service and consequently vote for it.

This is all an extension of Bob's efforts to install commuter rail and our successes with MAPS 3 streetcar. Mayor Cornett is the leader who helped organize and lead the initial discussions with the other cities into fruition. We now have support by Edmond, Moore, Norman, Midwest City and Del City. Now Yukon wants to be actively involved.

Don't be surprised if the next two iterations of MAPS are made up in large part by transit initiatives with votes occuring simultaneously in other suburban cities to enable these efforts to come to fruition.

Regarding the comments regarding congestion and attractiveness. I agree with most, if not all of those comments. But we are not building this system for the city of today, we are building this for the city of the future. A very bright future.

[Urban Pioneer]

Kind of sad to see they didn't mention anything about Capitol Hill…

Capitol Hill is in the plans.... For both a commuter rail stop and expanded streetcar. The two modes intersect at the commuter rail stop and interfacing with the Wheeler District via streetcar has been discussed by the Steering Committee.