Kansas has more than 2-thousand miles of short line railroad, and if recently proposed legislation doesn't pass, it could become abandoned.
Congressman Jerry Moran has proposed a bill that would provide up to 10,000 dollars per mile in tax credits for those short line railroads to rehabilitate their lines.
The lines need rehabilitation because large railroads like Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Sante Fe are moving from a 263,000 pound rail car to a 286,000 pound car. The new cars are too heavy for the short-line tracks.
Keith Hartwell is a representative for the American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association. He says, "If they can't get these lines upgraded and rehabilitated, they won't be able to carry these cars, and if those are the cars the class ones are using...they can't get them over their line, then they will be cut off from the national rail system. So a grain shipper in Topeka where the short-line is the only connection to get the 20 miles to the big railroad won't be able to move it. They'll either have to move by truck, which is much more expensive, or they'll have to move their facility."