I was wondering if anyone else is interested in having Amtrak trian service return to Ark City again? I think that it would bring people from out of town to our area and allow people from our area the chance to travel. Right now you have to travel to Newton and be there at 3am.
Absolutely. I was just in Lawrence last weekend and noticed that they had Amtrak service there (at least i think it was Amtrack). I thought how neat it would be to be able to ride a train there instead of driving.
Trains are really neat in some big cities where they have made services available to them, like Cleveland,where you take a train to masstrans and then go "anywhere in the city". It will even deliver you to the basement of a swanky hotel at Terminal Tower, downtown. There are a number of cities that are set up that way, NYC being one of them. The biggest problem with using trains is what you will do for ground transportation once you get to the destination. It has always been a problem. In the early days, restaurants like the Harvey House would send a bus to greet the passengers.
For trains to be a draw in AC there needs to be better ground transportation other than "OK we're here, where do you want to walk to?" It is a distant walk from the train track to anywhere, particularly in the winter. I notice all of the General Public Transportation (subsidized) busses constantly parked and unused at Strother Field. Wonder if they could be used? Otherwise, call ahead one day in advance and they will pick you up sometime (at their convenience) tomorrow.
Maybe the Traveler could do an article on train destinations, ie. does OKC have train access to Bricktown?, etc.
Amtrak trains coming through this area would be great. They had them here for many years. When I was 11, I rode one to Dallas Texas to our cousins for a week and loved it. Had it not been for the train I would not have gotten to go. The folks farmed and it was a very busy time during the summer. It was a big deal for me and the folks on the train treated me great and made sure I was safe. You can see the country that you cannot see on highway. and as the commerical said "Let some else do the driving". Sunflower
I am listening to a radio station KFDI out of Wichita and they are talking to a fella from KDOT about the trains coming through our area. The fella said there is a study on going and will be done this fall and then that will tell how the process goes. He said there would have to be some tracks fixed,but he thinks there is a good chance it will go . Will see. sunflower
