Jackson County Regional Rail Plan

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dangerboy
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Jackson County Regional Rail Plan

Post by dangerboy »

Commuter rail is taking another baby step in Kansas City. MARC has issued a request for proposals for a company to conduct a study of the I-70 corridor (Odessa in Lafayette County to Downtown Kansas City).

PDF: http://www.marc.org/I-70RFP.pdf

One interesting note, the rail line approaching Union Station from the east is becoming more crowded and might not be able to accomodate passenger trains. This study would also include consideration of a possible terminal on KC Southern's line in the River Market.

I-70 rail corridor
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by trailerkid »

Commuter rail is not the answer if it allows people to continue and increase building houses ridiculously far away from the core. In many cases commuter rail increases sprawl outward.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

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This line would be used a lot, i'd bet. Traffic during rush hour on I-70 is a mess. It would be great if the line ran from Odessa through downtown, and then continue west to the NASCAR track or even to Bonner Springs
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by scooterj »

Is there still a lot of freight traffic on that line or has its use declined?
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by Good2Great »

There is a lot of traffic..... the soultion could be as simple as a few more people in eastern jack getting their azzes out of bed earlier to beat the rush.

Until light rail takes people from the airport to bazookas, it'll never fly.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by dangerboy »

tat2kc wrote:This line would be used a lot, i'd bet. Traffic during rush hour on I-70 is a mess. It would be great if the line ran from Odessa through downtown, and then continue west to the NASCAR track or even to Bonner Springs
MARC has also identified a line west to Bonner Springs, Lawrence, and possibly Topeka. However the I-35, Odessa, and Lee's Summit/Warrensburg lines are higher up in the priority list.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

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tat2kc wrote:This line would be used a lot, i'd bet. Traffic during rush hour on I-70 is a mess. It would be great if the line ran from Odessa through downtown, and then continue west to the NASCAR track or even to Bonner Springs
I-70 on the KS side is nowhere near capacity, ever during rush hour. I-70 on the Missouri side is at capacity even during off peak times.

There has to be a demand. That's why I-70 east and I-35 south are top priorities of MARC. The I-70 line is projected to be twice as popular as the I-35 one, but the I-35 tracks perfectly parralell I-35 and would be a great fit for commuter rail. Frieght traffic will probably keep both on the drawing boards for a long time.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by kcmajik »

I HATE i-70 IN MISSOURI!
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by fire4725 »

It would be weird if the service was called MARC, since there already is a MARC in Maryland
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

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fire4725 wrote:It would be weird if the service was called MARC, since there already is a MARC in Maryland
MARC is the Mid-America Regional Council. It's the regional planning association, made up of reps from the various metro cities and counties. One of their chief jobs is to allocate fedeal transporation money. That would not be the name of the rail service.

http://www.marc.org
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by bahua »

trailerkid wrote:Commuter rail is not the answer if it allows people to continue and increase building houses ridiculously far away from the core. In many cases commuter rail increases sprawl outward.
It's a better answer than pollution, especially since I think people would use it.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by paisstat »

Most cities with commuter lines have trains ending at more than one station. It would be nice to have trains from the west going to say the River Market, trains from JOCO going to Union Station, trains from the Northland to Rivermarket, etc...
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by dangerboy »

The detailed financial study will be done by August 2005. The 2002 cursory study estimated $130 million in startup costs and $3.7 million in operating subsidies.

http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansa ... tory4.html

One positive detail, KC Southern's Warren Erdman is supporting commuter rail big time. He's buddies with Senator Kit Bond, the king of pork barrell politics. So if a commuter rail plan does move forward, odds are good for generous federal support.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by warwickland »

what do people on here think of the commuter rail option currently being "thrown around?" for the eastern I-70 corridor? personally, i don't know how well it would work. anyone on here who rides amtrack as much as i do, knows that theres a good chance of being delayed by the very frequent frieght traffic on the very line that is being considered. the commuter rail option sounds like a great transit alternative to serve east jack, but i don't know that too many people out there would "mess" with riding something that probably doesnt even serve the area in which they commute to. i don't see the trains exactly being packed to capacity, but it would be great if i were wrong. i'm glad that a variety of ideas are being considered, but do you think this one is a waste of time?

http://www.marc.org/transportation/i70alternatives.htm
Last edited by warwickland on Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by bahua »

I think commuter rail, serving suburban commuters, is a lot more realistic than light rail in the city, seeing as it fills a void that isn't currently satisfied by any current transit systems.

That said, the map they have drawn up looks ridiculous. They have drawn a map that flings itself about forty miles out, with one, I repeat, ONE proposed stop in what is now the area with the highest population and traffic density, before hitting an unknown spot, just north of downtown.

Image

For a commuter rail line along I-70 to work, it needs to run along I-70, so people stuck in their cars can see how much faster it is, and it needs to actually serve the eastern suburbs(Eastern KC, Independence, Blue Springs, with a total population of about 200K), and not the distant exurbs of Grain Valley, Buckner, and Odessa, with a total population(in a much, much broader area) of about 40K.

What this proposal seems to have in mind is a replacement for Amtrak. This is not a commuter rail line. It avoids too many commuters. Are they determined to keep transit from working?
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by KCMax »

I think commuter rail makes more sense for I-35 than for I-70, but I'd love to see it either way.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by warwickland »

I guess i should have been more clear; i'm not slamming commuter rail in general. I just don't like this proposal though for the reasons you outlined + my experience with passenger trains being sidelined for heavy freight traffic on the track they want to implement this proposal on.

I'd like to see a you-know-what line along the I-35 corridor implemented, setting a precident for the region.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by bahua »

I agree, but the hard reality is that it's really really expensive, if you don't want to use existing dilapidated freight lines.

What I think is a neat idea would be for the freight companies to get into the commuter rail business.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by bbqboy »

Could you guys tell me the standard definitions of streetcars, light rail, heavy rail, and commuter rail?...or  at least as far as their usage on this here little forum? Thanks.
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Re: KC Commuter Rail

Post by tat2kc »

bbqboy, now you've opened a can of worms! Some of the definitions used by some forum members are only valid on this forum, and in many cases, only in the minds of that particular poster. 
Are you sure we're talking about the same God here, because yours sounds kind of like a dick.
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