New Documentary About Commuter Rail Line in Overland Park

Commuter rail in Overland Park? Unthinkable! Well there used to be a well functioning commuter rail line called the Strang Line, running from 7th and Oak, through Westport, and on down to 80th and Santa Fe. The line stopped running in 1940, but there are still remnants of the line around Johnson County.

There is a new documentary about the history of the rail showing at the Rio Theater, with plans for KCPT to run the program in the future.

Its interesting that Overland Park was made possibly in large part because of commuter rail. As its suburbs, particularly inner-ring suburbs, became more working class, it will be interesting if commuter rail becomes once again a necessary lifeline to connect workers to jobs, or if it will continue to require its working population to invest in automobiles as a cost of living there.