DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) The Dodge City Commission has agreed to contribute up to $20,000 to lobbying efforts to keep an Amtrak rail line running through Kansas.
The Dodge City Daily Globe reports the commission voted Tuesday to contribute the money only if other cities along the Southwest Chief passenger line also contribute.
The lobbying is aimed at securing federal funding to repair the railroad lines from Chicago to Los Angeles that stops in Dodge City, Garden City, Hutchinson and Newton, along with Lamar and La Junta, Colo.
Amtrak uses BNSF Railway lines. Because of dispute over rail maintenance, Amtrak is considering an alternate route that would go south from Newton through the Texas Panhandle to New Mexico.
Garden City and Hutchinson have already committed funds to the lobbying effort.
