Okla. Gov. Henry signs resolution in support of possible rail line

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 10, 2007 by Janice Francis-Smith

Gov. Brad Henry signed a bill Monday encouraging the federal officials to explore a possible passenger rail line joining Tulsa and Springfield, Mo.

Senate Joint Resolution 14, by state Sen. Bill Brown, R-Broken Arrow, encourages the U.S. Department of Transportation to include the proposed Tulsa-to-Springfield line in an ongoing feasibility study of the possibility of a St. Louis-to-Springfield rail line.

The resolution says that Tulsa is the fifth-largest metropolitan region in the U.S. without Amtrak service. Amtrak stopped providing rail service to Tulsa in 1980.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation completed a feasibility study in March 2001 that examined the possibility of high-speed passenger rail service connecting Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

The study found that a proposed connection between Tulsa and St. Louis would become more feasible when the state of Missouri addressed the Springfield-to-St. Louis line.

In June 2006, Missouri requested a study of the Springfield-to- St. Louis line.