Lawrence Journal-World opinion section

There’s more than one way to provide Amtrak passenger service to the state’s largest city.

Rail advocates have been trying for some time to get a new rail route that would run through Wichita and serve as a link between the Southwest Chief, which runs through Newton, and the Heartland Flyer, which stops in Oklahoma City. “That’s still a good idea,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said recently, “but why wait?”

Magliari’s comment came during a news conference last week announcing a new Amtrak route between Newton and Oklahoma City. However, no trains are involved. The route is for touring-style buses, operated by a Wichita-based charter company, to carry rail passengers between the Southwest Chief and the Heartland Flyer.

It may not be exactly what Wichita travelers were hoping for, but it formally restores passenger rail service to Wichita for the first time in 37 years, They’ll just start their journey on an Amtrak bus instead of an Amtrak train.

As people who ride the train out of Lawrence know, Amtrak travel across Kansas is an early morning affair. The Amtrak connector bus will leave Wichita at 1:35 a.m. each day to catch the Southwest Chief at 2:45 a.m. in Newton. It will head south from Newton at 4 a.m. and leave Wichita at 5 a.m. so passengers can catch the Heartland Flyer in Oklahoma City at 8:25 a.m.

The mayor of Wichita lauded the new transportation option for his city. The welcome that Wichita is giving to even this makeshift Amtrak service is a good reminder of how fortunate Lawrence is to be on a regular Amtrak route. The bus connection through Wichita also provides additional travel options for Lawrence riders.

With airline travel becoming more expensive and less enjoyable, trains may become an even more popular option for the future, which supports the need to invest in both maintenance and expansion of Amtrak tracks and service. Completing a rail line between Newton and Oklahoma City would be a good addition for Amtrak, but the bus line is a creative stopgap measure.