Kansas Statewide Rail Plan Kansas Department of Transportation September 2017 i Kansas Rail Plan • Table of Contents Table of Contents Chapter 1 Role of Rail in Kansas’ Multimodal System ..................................................... 1-1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.2 Kansas’ Goals for its Multimodal Transportation System .................................................................... 1-1 1.2.1 Kansas State Freight Plan ..................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2.2 Kansas Long Range Transportation Plan, 2008-2030 ............................................................. 1-2 1.2.3 Kansas State Transportation Improvement Program, 2017-2020 .................................... 1-3 1.3 The Role of Rail within the Kansas Transportation System ................................................................ 1-4 1.3.1 The Early Years ......................................................................................................................................... 1-4 1.3.2 The Current System Takes Shape ..................................................................................................... 1-4 1.3.3 Evolution of Passenger Rail Services .............................................................................................. 1-5 1.4 Institutional Structure of Kansas’s State Rail Program ......................................................................... 1-6 1.4.1 State Planning Overview ...................................................................................................................... 1-6 1.4.2 Kansas Department of Transportation........................................................................................... 1-6 1.4.3 Other Public Sector Rail Planning in Kansas ................................................................................ 1-9 1.5 Federal Funding and Grants .......................................................................................................................... 1-11 1.5.1 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant ............. 1-11 1.5.2 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 ............................................. 1-12 1.6 State Authority to Grant Funding and Financing .................................................................................. 1-12 1.6.1 Legislative Authority ........................................................................................................................... 1-12 1.6.2 State Rail Funding in Kansas............................................................................................................ 1-13 1.6.3 State Provided Funding 2012-2016 ............................................................................................. 1-13 1.7 Summary of Freight and Passenger Rail Services, Initiatives and Plans .................................... 1-14 Chapter 2 Existing Kansas Rail System ................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 Kansas’s Rail Network Description ................................................................................................................ 2-1 2.2 Class I Railroads ..................................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.2.1 BNSF Railway ............................................................................................................................................ 2-3 2.2.2 Kansas City Southern ............................................................................................................................. 2-5 2.2.3 Norfolk Southern Railway.................................................................................................................... 2-5 2.2.4 Union Pacific Railroad ........................................................................................................................... 2-7 2.3 Class III Railroads ............................................................................................................................................... 2-10 2.3.1 Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad Co.................................................................................. 2-11 2.3.2 Blue Rapids Railroad ........................................................................................................................... 2-12 2.3.3 Boot Hill and Western Railway ....................................................................................................... 2-13 2.3.4 Cimarron Valley Railroad .................................................................................................................. 2-14 2.3.5 Garden City Western Railway, Inc. ................................................................................................ 2-15 2.3.6 Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad ...................................................................................................... 2-16 2.3.7 KYLE Railroad Company.................................................................................................................... 2-18 2.3.8 Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad ................................................................................ 2-20 2.3.9 Nebraska Kansas Colorado Railroad ............................................................................................ 2-20 2.3.10 South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad ...................................................................................... 2-21 2.3.11 V&S Railway LLC ................................................................................................................................ 2-23 2.3.12 Kansas City Terminal Railway Company ................................................................................. 2-24 2.3.13 New Century AirCenter Railroad ................................................................................................. 2-25 2.3.14 Wichita Terminal Association Railroad, Inc. .......................................................................... 2-26 2.4 Rail Freight Commodity Flows ..................................................................................................................... 2-28 ii Table of Contents • Kansas Rail Plan 2.4.1 Freight Demand and Growth ........................................................................................................... 2-28 2.4.2 Freight Forecast .................................................................................................................................... 2-29 2.5 Intercity Passenger Rail Network ................................................................................................................ 2-30 2.6 Passenger Stations in Kansas ........................................................................................................................ 2-33 2.6.1 Lawrence .................................................................................................................................................. 2-33 2.6.2 Topeka ....................................................................................................................................................... 2-35 2.6.3 Newton ...................................................................................................................................................... 2-36 2.6.4 Hutchinson .............................................................................................................................................. 2-37 2.6.5 Dodge City ................................................................................................................................................ 2-38 2.6.6 Garden City .............................................................................................................................................. 2-39 2.7 Recent-Year Improvements at Amtrak Stations ................................................................................... 2-40 2.8 Tourist Train Network ..................................................................................................................................... 2-40 2.9 Changes to the Rail Network ......................................................................................................................... 2-42 2.10 Intermodal ............................................................................................................................................................. 2-44 2.10.1 Intermodal Facilities ......................................................................................................................... 2-44 2.10.2 Transload Facilities ........................................................................................................................... 2-45 2.10.3 Major Yards and Facilities Freight Rail ..................................................................................... 2-46 2.11 Rail Safety and Security ................................................................................................................................... 2-49 2.11.1 Positive Train Control .....................................................................................................................