HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With the future of Amtrak service to Hutchinson and southwest Kansas still hanging in the 
balance, Hutchinson city officials will be offered a chance to talk with the rail passenger company’s CEO, Joseph Boardman.
Amtrak is conducting a whistle stop along the route which will include a short stop in Hutchinson. The city will make a decision before then whether it wants to hop aboard and travel to Dodge City where meetings will take place about the future of the Chief, or simply meet with Boardman at the station downtown. The trip and meetings are set for July 11th. Amtrak and BNSF Railway continue to look for funding for renovation and upkeep of the current SW Chief line through western Kansas, southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.
The two companies say they will move the Chief to BNSF’s southern “transcon” route if the funding isn’t made available.