Kansas State Rail Plan Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction ......................................................................................... 9 1.1 The Rail System’s Role in Kansas 9 1.2 Federal Mandate for State Rail Plans 9 Chapter 2 – State Rail Plan Consultation and Vision ........................................ 11 2.1 Rail Plan Outreach Approach 11 2.1.1 Stakeholder Outreach and Involvement Plan ............................................................... 11 2.1.2 Public Meetings ........................................................................................................... 12 2.1.3 Stakeholder Interviews ................................................................................................. 13 2.1.4 State Rail Plan Advisory Committee ........................................................................... 13 2.2 Stakeholder Outreach Findings and Issues 13 2.2.1 Common Themes ......................................................................................................... 14 2.2.2 Divergent Themes ........................................................................................................ 15 2.2.3 Proposed Actions to Address Outreach Recommendations ......................................... 16 2.3 Rail Vision 17 2.4 Integration with the National Rail Plan 18 Chapter 3 – Public Rail Program Activities in Kansas ...................................... 19 3.1 Kansas’ Legislative Rail Authority 19 3.2 Kansas DOT’s Rail Organization and Roles 20 3.2.1 KDOT Freight and Rail Unit ....................................................................................... 20 3.2.2 KDOT Design-Coordinating Section ........................................................................... 22 3.3 Public Sector Rail Planning in Kansas 23 3.3.1 Kansas Department of Commerce ............................................................................... 23 3.3.2 Kansas Department of Agriculture .............................................................................. 23 3.3.3 Metropolitan Planning Organizations .......................................................................... 24 3.3.4 Local Economic Development Agencies ..................................................................... 25 3.4 State Rail Funding in Kansas 25 3.4.1 KDOT Rail Improvement Program.............................................................................. 26 3.4.2 KDOT Rail-Highway Grade Crossing Improvement Program .................................... 26 3.4.3 KDOT Rail Intercity Passenger Program .................................................................... 27 3.4.4 Kansas Department of Commerce Community Development Block Grant Program . 27 3.5 Federal Rail Programs and Funding Options 27 3.5.1 Federal Rail Intercity Passenger and High Speed Rail Programs ................................ 28 3.6 Rail-Related Legislative Proposals 34 3.7 Kansas Rail Studies 35 3.7.1 Rail Freight Studies ...................................................................................................... 35 3.7.2 Rail Passenger Studies ................................................................................................. 35 3.7.3 Studies Addressing Rail Freight and Passenger Issues ................................................ 36 3.8 Kansas’ Involvement in Multi-State Planning 36 Chapter 4 – Rail Inventory ................................................................................... 38 4.1 Summary of the Freight Rail System in Kansas 38 Final Report 1 Kansas State Rail Plan 4.2 The Class I Rail Network in Kansas 40 4.3 BNSF Railway 40 4.3.1 BNSF’s Main Corridors in Kansas .............................................................................. 41 4.3.2 BNSF’s Stations in Kansas .......................................................................................... 42 4.4 Kansas City Southern Railway 44 4.4.1 KSCR’s Main Corridor in Kansas ............................................................................... 45 4.5 Norfolk Southern Railroad Company 47 4.6 Union Pacific Railroad 47 4.6.1 UP’s Main Corridors in Kansas ................................................................................... 48 4.3.2 UP’s Stations in Kansas ............................................................................................... 49 4.7 Summary of Class III Railroad Service in Kansas 52 4.8 Short Line Railroads in Kansas 53 4.8.1 Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad Co. ................................................................. 53 4.8.2 Blue Rapids Railroad ................................................................................................... 55 4.8.3 Boothill and Western Railway ..................................................................................... 57 4.8.4 Cimarron Valley Railroad ............................................................................................ 58 4.8.5 Garden City Western Railway, Inc. ............................................................................. 60 4.8.6 Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad ................................................................................... 62 4.8.7 Kyle Railroad Company .............................................................................................. 64 4.8.8 Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad .................................................................. 66 4.8.9 Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado Railway, Inc. .................................................................. 67 4.8.10 South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad....................................................................... 69 4.8.11 V&S Railway LLC .................................................................................................... 71 4.8.12 Kansas City Terminal Railway Company .................................................................. 73 4.8.13 New Century AirCenter Railroad/JCAX ................................................................... 74 4.8.14 Wichita Terminal Association Railroad, Inc.............................................................. 75 4.9 Tourist Railroads in Kansas 78 4.9.1 Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad ........................................................................... 78 4.9.2 Central Branch Railroad .............................................................................................. 80 4.9.3 Midland Railway .......................................................................................................... 81 4.10 Abandoned or Discontinued Rail Lines 83 4.10.1 Abandoned Rail Lines in Kansas ............................................................................... 83 4.10.2 Rail Lines Preserved for Future Use .......................................................................... 85 Chapter 5 – Kansas Rail Traffic Profile .............................................................. 86 5.1 Freight Rail Commodity Profile 86 5.1.1 Freight Rail Traffic Densities ...................................................................................... 87 5.1.2 Interstate Outbound ...................................................................................................... 89 5.1.3 Interstate Inbound ........................................................................................................ 91 5.1.4 Intrastate in Kansas ...................................................................................................... 92 5.1.5 Through Traffic ............................................................................................................ 93 5.2 Freight Rail Geographic Profile 95 5.2.1 Destinations of Outbound Freight Originated in Kansas ............................................. 95 5.2.2 Origins of Inbound Freight Destined for Kansas ......................................................... 96 5.2.3 Origins and Destinations of Through Traffic ............................................................... 97 5.3 Freight Rail Trends 98 Final Report 2 Kansas State Rail Plan 5.3.1 Inbound and Outbound Trends .................................................................................... 98 5.4 Freight Flow Forecasts for 2030 100 5.4.1 Tonnage Forecast ....................................................................................................... 100 5.4.2 Commodity Forecast .................................................................................................. 102 Chapter 6 – Role of the Kansas Rail System in Multimodal Transportation 104 6.1 Kansas’ Role in U.S. Freight Transportation Logistics 104 6.2 Rail Intermodal Development in Kansas 105 6.3 International Freight Transportation Logistics 106 6.3.1 Impacts of the Panama Canal Expansion ................................................................... 107 6.3.2 The Suez Canal Option .............................................................................................. 107 6.4 Intermodal Freight Rail Growth in Kansas 108 6.4.1 Intermodal Equipment Availability for Kansas Agricultural Use ............................. 109 6.4.2 Existing Rail Intermodal Clearances in Kansas ......................................................... 110 6.4.3 Non-Containerized Truck-Rail Facilities in Kansas .................................................. 110 6.5 Rail/Water Bulk Transfer Terminals in Kansas 113 Chapter 7 – Impacts of Rail Transportation in Kansas ...................................115 7.1 Economic Impacts 115 7.1.1 Rail Employment in Kansas ......................................................................................