Hutchinson ? Transportation officials have agreed to spend $200,000 for the state’s portion of a study into whether it’s feasible to operate a passenger train service between Kansas City, Mo., and Fort Worth, Texas.

The Amtrak study, which is also being funded by the Oklahoma and Texas transportation departments, will identify construction and equipment requirements for the proposed route. It also will estimate potential annual operating costs to run the service.

The study will consider proposed stops in Lawrence, Topeka and Newton, with new stations in Emporia, Strong City, Wichita and Winfield or Arkansas City.

KDOT spokesman Ron Kaufman said the study is expected to be finished sometime next year.

Even if such a train service is deemed viable, legislatures in the three states would have to agree to come up with the money to pay for it.

“In the last six months there’s been a nice flurry of activity at the federal level to provide funding to assist states,” Kaufman said. “That’s great news.”

The study will consider things such as potential schedules, availability of railcars and locomotives, and the cost of rail improvements to accommodate passenger service, Kaufman said.

He said the service wouldn’t have any impact on the schedule or routes of the Southwest Chief, which crosses Kansas on its way from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Kaufman said 14 towns initially were considered for stops. He said the number of stops had to be limited to balance service with speed. “We’re looking at six or seven stops along the way as a reasonable number,” he said.

Four scenarios are included in the study:

• A nighttime round trip between Newton, Kan., and Oklahoma City. It would connect with the Southwest Chief and extend the Heartland Flyer, which makes a daily round trip between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City.

• A nighttime round trip between Kansas City and Fort Worth, with connections at Newton and Oklahoma City. It would use the existing Heartland Flyer and a new service between Kansas City and Oklahoma City.

• A daytime round trip between Kansas City and Fort Worth, with stops in Newton and Oklahoma City, using a new stand-alone service and two new trains.

• A daytime round trip between Kansas City and Oklahoma City using a new stand-alone service and two new trains.