Oklahoma Passenger Rail Updates(non-HSR)

[Mott]

The line was the Rock Island. When they went bankrupt, the ATSF was interested in operating the line from Memphis to Amarillo. One day a business car came into the GM yard, and we ( the switch crew) asked whoever to come inside. On a large table was a thick open large folder of the the line, milepost by milepost. The ATSF was going to eliminate several crew districts, and run the trains with 3 rather than 4 man crews. The catch was having OK and TX buy the line and lease it back. But with no political clout in Arkansas, and I’m sure the objection of the MOPAC, and FRISCO, no monies, so the deal fell thru. And now it’s all on the old FRISCO via Tulsa-Enid-Amarillo.

[Plutonic Panda]

There are no existing viable lines that go to Amarillo out of OKC.

They need to build one along I-40. It’d be much more convenient to go to LA that way.

[oklip955]

Rail lines that were abandoned should have had a clause that allowed the right of way to be kept for future rail use. So many have now been built upon. Think Pops in Arcadia is built on the old right of way.

[catch22]

Railroads do have the power of eminent domain, not just for mainline trackage but also for facilities.

BNSF is using eminent domain on some properties in Hudson, CO right now to build a large intermodal facility replacing the downtown Denver Rennicks Yard.

So, really right of way preservation is only helpful for lines that may be under threat of significant challenges, for example a sky scraper being built on an abandoned right of way. Otherwise, small buildings and homes can be cleared off a potential ROW rather easily (relatively).

[Mott]

If the railroad held an easement, the abandonment of the line automatically terminates the railroad's easement interest, and the interest generally reverts to the owners of the adjacent land owning the fee simple interest from which the easement was granted. The state could have purchased the MKT from OKC to Bartlesville for a recreational trail but passed, and as they say, that train has left the station. Here’s an article about the Supreme Court ruling from 2014……
https://www.calt.iastate.edu/article...erts-landowner

[LocoAko]

Apologies if I missed this previously, but I didn't realize the west-route and airport routes being examined for passenger rail were dead and officially being recommended instead for BRT down Reno...

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...y/70603113007/

[BoulderSooner]

Apologies if I missed this previously, but I didn't realize the west-route and airport routes being examined for passenger rail were dead and officially being recommended instead for BRT down Reno...

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...y/70603113007/

east west if it was getting built was going to go to sante fe station ... the union station ship sailed a long long time ago ..

and for the record this is a poor choice for the RTA to make .. rapid street car / light rail to tinker would be the much better choice and heavy rail to the airport/ west okc would be the better choice ..

[Mississippi Blues]

and for the record this is a poor choice for the RTA to make .. rapid street car / light rail to tinker would be the much better choice and heavy rail to the airport/ west okc would be the better choice ..

I like it when you talk like that, BS lol

[Plutonic Panda]

east west if it was getting built was going to go to sante fe station ... the union station ship sailed a long long time ago ..

and for the record this is a poor choice for the RTA to make .. rapid street car / light rail to tinker would be the much better choice and heavy rail to the airport/ west okc would be the better choice ..

+1 but it was also a really stupid choice to rule out Union Station for any sort of rail connection potential.

Real actual transit won’t be a reality for OKC or Oklahoma for the foreseeable future. We will have half assed infrastructure in that for the time being and that being said we need to primarily focus on car based transportation with a slow transition to offering people alternatives. Personally I’d prefer quality over quantity but the leaders that be don’t see it that way.

At the very least ODOT and the OTA are very resourceful and as much crap as I give them they do a fantastic job given the budget they have.

[Mississippi Blues]

Union Station is in a pretty awesome spot if it ever were to be used as a station again, assuming the area around Scissortail Park gets built up in an efficient way. Not only that, but there’s the Scissortail Bridge connecting to the southern end of the park and anything that gets built in the future, possibly even connecting it to the south side of the river. I’m not hopeful that that’ll ever happen for reasons stated in the article, but if the City/RTA/ODOT ever did decide to undertake it in the future when Oklahoma City is more built up and rail transit is more utilized, it could be a gem of a station for the city, state, and region at large. Shoot, even as it exists today, it’s an incredible building just to have. Among my favorite parts of going to Scissortail is just being able to view the structure up close.