Heartland Flyer Extension

Connecting Kansas communities with the Amtrak network

Amtrak’s Vision: Newton – Wichita –Oklahoma City – Fort Worth

This new corridor provides Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas residents with increased mobility options between their states, as well as improved connections with Amtrak’s national network.

Station locations and routing are illustrative. Light blue lines denote proposed new corridors, dark blue lines denote existing Amtrak service, with the route discussed on this page highlighted in yellow.

Corridor Growth

An extension of Amtrak’s existing Heartland Flyer service would allow for enhanced service to Oklahoma City and Wichita. Although the two cities are only 160 miles apart, the last time they were connected by passenger rail was in 1979. The extension of the Heartland Flyer to Newton, Kansas would not only connect Wichita, Kansas’s largest city, to Oklahoma City, but would also allow transfers to Amtrak’s national network in two locations at both Newton, KS and Fort Worth, TX. Additionally, newly proposed routes would further allow customers to travel throughout Texas. The Dallas – Fort Worth area is home to over 7.5 million people, the fourth largest in the United States; the route in total would serve over ten million residents. Additionally, the route would connect 25 Fortune 500 companies.

Fort Worth is also served by the Texas Eagle, with connections to Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Chicago. New proposed routes would connect Fort Worth to Houston, Wichita, and Newton.   

Proposed Stations

  • Newton, KS
  • Wichita, KS (NEW)
  • Arkansas City, KS (NEW) 
  • Ponca City, OK (NEW)
  • Perry, OK (NEW)
  • Guthrie, OK (NEW) 
  • Edmond, OK (NEW) 
  • Oklahoma City, OK
  • Norman, OK
  • Purcell, OK 
  • Pauls Valley, OK 
  • Ardmore, OK 
  • Gainesville, TX 
  • Fort Worth, TX

Environment and Transportation Equity

The growth that the corridor has seen is accompanied by increased traffic congestion, especially along Wichita’s I-235 highway. To address congestion, the Kansas Department of Transportation has backed the North Junction  project , costing residents $49 million. The project area is notorious for traffic accidents, making it both an inconvenience and a safety risk. 

The Dallas – Fort Worth – Arlington corridor is one of the top ten most congested areas in the United States. According to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, drivers in the region lost  67 hours  standing in traffic in 2017, costing $1,272 per commuter

Oklahoma City experiences similar issues, with long-overdue road repairs and minimized road capacity posing the bulk of community  concerns . Amtrak service can bring much-needed relief to the corridor, as well as aid in the popularity of diversified land use, access management, and multi-modal initiatives.

New rail connections between smaller cities in the corridor and Wichita, Oklahoma City, and Fort Worth would improve mobility for underserved communities, connecting residents to new education and employment opportunities along the corridor. 

Connections to Higher Education

Newton/Wichita – Oklahoma City – Fort Worth Amtrak service would create new connections between major metropolitan cities, medium-sized cities, and colleges and universities along the corridor. Students, their families, faculty, and staff will be able to take advantage of frequent Amtrak service to avoid traffic between destinations and to enjoy greater productivity or relaxation while they travel.

Colleges and universities served by the Newton/Wichita – Oklahoma City – Fort Worth corridor include: 

  • Bethel College- (Student Population: 600)
  • Hutchinson Community College- (Student Population: 5,500)
  • Wichita State University- (Student Population: 16,000)
  • Newman University- (Student Population: 2,700)
  • Friends University- (Student Population: 2,800)  
  • Cowley University- (Student Population: 3,800) 
  • Oklahoma Christian University- (Student Population: 2,200)
  • University of Central Oklahoma- (Student Population: 11,000)
  • The University of Oklahoma- (Student Population: 26,00)
  • Texas Christian University- (Student Population: 9,700)  
  • Texas Wesleyan University- (Student Population: 2,600) 

Recent News

“ Push to expand passenger rail service gains steam .” EMissourian (Associated Press). Jun 16, 2021.