The call of “All aboard!” still seems more of a dream than a likelihood. But credit Wichita City Council member Pete Meitzner with getting things moving toward bringing passenger trains back to Wichita.

With support from his council colleagues, Meitzner has spent nine months investigating the viability of a northern route into Kansas for Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer, which now links Dallas-Fort Worth to Oklahoma City. And key elements of such an extension have started coming together.

The Kansas Department of Transportation, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration have signaled that a completed initial planning study “is a good first step that gets us in the game,” Meitzner told The Eagle, with the next necessary steps an environmental study and a regional passenger-rail workshop. An interim legislative committee also encouraged the idea in November, agreeing that passenger rail was an important investment for the state.

Meanwhile, commercial developer Gary Oborny has a letter of intent to buy the old Union Station with plans to revive its use as a rail terminal as well as renovate it into a hospitality, office and retail development.

Continue reading here.

This week, Wichita City Councilmen, Pete Meitzner and James Clendenin went on a local TV show to discuss a possible passenger rail service study to return passenger rail service to the city.  With the completion of the study, it would give the city and region up to 10 years to find the funding to complete the project.  Please share this link with all interested parties!

Click here for the video