| The Oklahoma Legislature is committing more money for a series of meetings, for legislators to talk about... 'How cool it would be for the legislature to pay |  |
| Ben Felder, in writing for the Oklahoman, said; There is a lobby group called "The Association of Central Oklahoma Government". It's an organization that is working to develop a commuter rail system for the Oklahoma City metro. OKC already has a metro bus system. Executive Director, John Johnson said the Heartland Flyer could not only compliment regional rail lines, but would be an important link for a future line connecting Oklahoma City with Tulsa and Kansas City. “Right now we are sort of a dead end from Fort Worth,” Johnson said. “But hopefully someday we can complete the next leg that connects us with other cities like Chicago.” Work already is underway to connect Oklahoma City and Tulsa with passenger rail service called the Eastern Flyer, but advocates believe that future project could be jeopardized if the Heartland Flyer stopped running. “I call the Heartland Flyer the foundation for the Eastern Flyer,” said Evan Stair, president of Passenger Rail Oklahoma. “Despite the fact that the Eastern Flyer is called a commuter train, there are some people who will use it as a way to connect with the Heartland Flyer, as a way to get from Tulsa to Texas.” |
| What the passenger train lobbyists aren't explaining is that the existing rails and right-of-way linking Tulsa to OKC, don't directly go to the Oklahoma City Amrak terminal. Instead, they meander past factories, warehouses, landfills, and dirt pits, seeking to connect to another rail line to the south. Then a transfer stop while passengers admire an auto salvage yard. Railcars can then be pushed in reverse & hauled back up to the heart of downtown OKC, where the little Amtrak terminal sits. There is nothing 'express' about it and the current Greyhound bus service gets folks to the capitol much faster & cheaper. Greyhound pays state highway taxes instead of consuming them. Tulsans have 3 buses available each day, to OKC. Tickets start at $15 and the trip is under 2 hours. Greyhound has no problem taking Tulsa passengers directly to downtown OKC, where their terminal is on Reno Ave, just east of Bricktown; and just minutes south of the State Capitol campus. |  The OKC Greyhound Depot, on Reno Ave. |
This is where the Tulsa train ends it's run (on the far left), stopping above an auto salvage. A separate rail line then backs the cars into the Bricktown depot. The stormwater ditch often floods, making the route inaccessable after heavy rainfall.
Killing Free Enterprise With Corporatism.
Train tickets would cost about double the price of current $15 bus tickets, per mile.
An OKC-Dallas train jaunt will currently set you back $40 - $100, each way. It would cost the consumer $60 more, but the state legislature subsidizes more than half the cost.
Flights to Dallas from OKC start around $59, each way. But a bus ticket starts at $21.
Last century, an Italian politician loved crony capitalism. He got to heavily regulate enterprise and pick the winners (& losers). In his day the concept was called economic fascism. Benito Mussolini said;
An OKC-Dallas train jaunt will currently set you back $40 - $100, each way. It would cost the consumer $60 more, but the state legislature subsidizes more than half the cost.
Flights to Dallas from OKC start around $59, each way. But a bus ticket starts at $21.
Last century, an Italian politician loved crony capitalism. He got to heavily regulate enterprise and pick the winners (& losers). In his day the concept was called economic fascism. Benito Mussolini said;
"Fascism ought rightly be called 'Corporatism', for it is the merger of corporate and government power."
