Wichita ? Kansas travelers will lose their only passenger train service if Amtrak goes ahead with threatened cuts to long-distance trains.

On April 4, Amtrak plans to post a 180-day notice that it intends to discontinue the “Southwest Chief” and 17 other money-losing routes unless it gets more federal money, the railroad said Thursday.

“It is all contingent if we don’t get federal funding,” said Kathleen Cantillon, spokeswoman for Amtrak in Chicago. “We are working hard to get the federal appropriation we need. This is just in case we don’t.”

In February, Amtrak compiled a tentative list of 18 long-distance routes that could be cut this fall unless it receives $1.2 billion in the 2003 budget year, which begins in October.

Amtrak is required by law to give the 180-day notice before it discontinues train service. The railroad initially planned to issue the notice March 29, but delayed it to April 4 because of the Good Friday holiday. The notice, which reserves the authority to cut routes in October, will include all the trains on the list the railroad released in February, she said.

The “Southwest Chief” between Chicago and Los Angeles is the line that serves Kansas. It runs through Kansas City, Topeka, Lawrence, Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City.

Among the other routes that could be cut: the “Sunset Limited” between Orlando, Fla., and Los Angeles; the “Silver Service” linking New York to Miami, and the “City of New Orleans,” connecting Chicago and New Orleans.

The Bush administration calls for $521 million for Amtrak, the same amount as the last three years.

Railroad supporters in Kansas say Amtrak service is popular despite the inconvenient hours and sparse stations.