Doubts still plague the Heartland Flyer

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 19, 2001 by Bill May The Journal Record

The Heartland Flyer's second anniversary last week should shed some doubts about the passenger train's future, according to state officials who made the trip to Fort Worth.

Even so, doubts persist.

It didn't help any when Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta was quoted in the Washington Post nearly three weeks ago as saying Amtrak, the entity that operates the Heartland Flyer, won't meet its congressional mandate to become financially self-sufficient by December 2002.

There was nothing new in Mineta's statement, other than the fact that it was the first time a Cabinet officer, or any high-ranking member of a presidential administration, admitted Amtrak won't reach its congressional mandate.

Not only did Mineta talk of the financial troubles, but he also suggested that Amtrak cut back its route structure.

Although Mineta didn't mention Oklahoma, his statements could have a profound effect here, according to Terri Angier, public affairs director for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Mineta's statements come at a time when Oklahoma is desperately trying to expand service, both to the north and to the east.

"Anything the administration has something to say about railroad service, it impacts Oklahoma," Angier said. "Since we are trying to expand service, naturally we want Amtrak to broaden its route structure. We don't want any cutbacks."

Ever since the Heartland Flyer started operation June 14, 1999, state officials and legislators have made strenuous efforts to expand it north to Newton, Kan.

That expansion can be done with relatively little expense on the part of Oklahoma, because the track is in good condition. It just needs some minor repairs and new signalization.

Similar efforts have been under way to add at least daily rail passenger service between Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

So far, nothing has come from those efforts. But the Federal Railroad Administration has designated the route from Tulsa -- through Oklahoma City and Fort Worth -- to San Antonio as a high- speed corridor.

Federal funds are available to improve tracks and for operations on all high-speed corridors, but each state must come up with a 25 percent match. That's holding up progress on that line, according to John Dougherty, assets manager for the transportation department's Rail Division.

Most of the division's cost is paid for by income from leases on state-owned track, Dougherty said. There's not much left over, though, which means any money spent on passenger service must come from legislative appropriations or some sort of dedicated tax.

"There's no fund that we have available with extra money to pay the state match to get the federal funds," he said.

Twice state Sen. Dave Herbert, D-Midwest City, has introduced a resolution calling for a statewide vote to increase gasoline taxes to pay for railroad improvements. Both times it failed in the House.

"This time, we got closer to passing, though," Dougherty noted.

Most rail enthusiasts are looking at the Heartland Flyer to prove the naysayers wrong.

Through June 13, total two-year ridership has totaled 132,154, a number that has made state transportation officials ecstatic.

The second year, there were 61,025 riders, which exceeds early ridership projections for the first year.

"We thought that after the first couple of months, ridership would fall off," Dougherty said. "But it hasn't fallen as much as we thought it would."

The problem with these numbers is that they weren't available during the 2001 legislative session. Hopefully, they will open some eyes during the 2002 session, causing legislators to open the purse strings and give some money to rail passenger service, Dougherty said.

It seems as if a route between the two major metropolitan areas of the state would be a relatively easy deal, since the state owns the track between Oklahoma City and Sapulpa. But "it would be too expensive to straighten out that track," Dougherty said.

The 100-mile stretch of railroad has 130 or more curves, which means that trains can only average about 35 miles per hour -- too slow for passengers.

"It would cost almost as much to straighten that track, what with having to acquire new right of way," Dougherty said. "It probably would be cheaper to build a track along the Turner Turnpike. That's been estimated to cost about $1 million a mile, or $100 million dollars."

The state just doesn't have $25 million to put up as a match for railroad construction, he said.

During the first two fiscal years it has been in operation, the state has paid $10.8 million in subsidy to Amtrak to pay for the Heartland Flyer.

By the same token, the state has earned back about $3 million from fares.

Next year, though, the subsidy is scheduled to be $6 million. That's when the financial problems are expected to hit hard.

At the end of fiscal 2002, which ends June 30, 2002, the state will have no more federal money left in its coffers to pay for the subsidy. That means the train must be self-sufficient.

Not many people expect that to happen.

Railroad enthusiasts are pushing for legislative appropriation to continue the Amtrak subsidy.