Economic Development and Transportation Impacts of Railroad BranchlineAbandonment in South Central Kansas

摘要

In June 1990 the Santa Fe Railway placed 800 miles of its Kansas system inCategory 1 abandonment status. The study measures potential impacts of Santa Fe abandonment in a ten county region in south central Kansas. The region is served by three Santa Fe branchlines that are slated for abandonment. Abandonment would have the greatest shipping cost impact on elevators located on the western portion of the Rago to Englewood line. Shipments of export wheat and flour from these locations involve distances to terminals and flour mills of more than 100 miles. For these shipments, the all Santa Fe method of shipping export wheat and flour is less costly than the truck-Santa Fe method. Communities that lose rail service would have difficulty attracting firms that require rail service for inbound or outbound freight. These commodities include lumber, paper, chemicals, plastics, and various construction materials. Abandonment of the three study area branchlines would cause an 8 percent increase in wheat bushels transported by truck. The truck attributable road damage cost resulting from abandonment is about $1 million.