The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department is exploring the possibility of placing high-speed passenger rail service in the state. Public meetings will be held Tuesday, September 23rd in North Little Rock and Thursday, September 25th in Fort Smith to get the public’s input on high-speed rail. Additional meetings will be held October 14th in West Memphis, October 15th in Monticello and October 16th in Texarkana. Danny Straessle is Public Information Officer with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department.
“AHTD has the responsibility to coordinate the development of a statewide transportation plan including the preparation of what we’re working on now, the State Rail Plan,” according to Straessle. “Now, this is an important step in charting a direction in freight and passenger rail in the state and it’s also required for Arkansas to be eligible for existing and perspective federal rail funding”.
Straessle says the state is putting a plan together in the event that federal funds would be available for implementing a plan.
“There is a possibility of high-speed rail coming to Arkansas, way down the pike, but it’s something we are trying to prepare ourselves for should it ever become a reality. The High-Speed Passenger Rail Feasibility Study we’re conducting consists of the evaluation of extending the South Central High Speed Rail Corridor from Little Rock to Memphis”.
Straessle says the most desired route would be for the rail service to run from Texarkana to Memphis, following the I-30 and I-40 corridors.
“There are other groups that are trying to get this High-Speed Rail Corridor to follow the Interstate 20 Corridor across the top of North Louisiana which would bypass Arkansas altogether. There are many proponents in the state that are looking to bring this Corridor to Arkansas. You know, we have a Union Pacific Rail Corridor in Arkansas that comes from Texarkana to Little Rock and on up in to North East Arkansas and also used to continue over to Memphis but the main route, Union Pacific, following US 67 down from Missouri and in North East Arkansas. So we’re holding some public meetings. We’re looking for information from folks who are interested in this type of planning”.
The High-Speed Passenger Rail Feasibility Study consists of the evaluation of extending the South Central High-Speed Rail Corridor from Little Rock to Memphis, preparation of a service development plan for the existing Little Rock to Texarkana corridor, and a study of possible impacts of high-speed passenger rail service on Arkansas’ highway system.
“We want to prepare a service development plan for the Little Rock to Texarkana Corridor and then kind of determine possible impacts of high-speed passenger rail service on the highway system, meaning, in conjunction with the highway right away. You wouldn’t have high-speed rail on the highway itself but we have great swaths of right-of-way throughout the state where our interstates go and where our state highways go. These typically can be ideal places for you to associate a rail service within those corridors”.
More information is at www.arkansasrailplan.com
