HEARTLAND FLYER

The '''Heartland Flyer''' is a daily passenger train that follows a 206-mile (332-km) route between Fort Worth, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Amtrak serves as contractor, initially only for the State of Oklahoma, but now also to the State of Texas.^[1]

Contents

History

Route and equipment used

Threatened discontinuance

Future service

References

External links

History

On June 14, 1999, after a 20 year absence, passenger rail service between Oklahoma and Texas was reinstated, The ''Heartland Flyer'' has proven to be very successful and popular with Amtrak patrons, achieving a number one customer satisfaction rating for several years running. First-year ticket sales reached 71,400 passengers, superseding Amtrak's original 25,000 projection. The ''Heartland Flyer'' typically averages 58,000 tickets sold annually.

Route and equipment used

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The train serves a portion of the former Chicago-Houston ''Lone Star'' route. It connects to the national passenger rail system in Fort Worth through the ''Texas Eagle'' which serves San Antonio, Los Angeles, California, Chicago, and stations along the way. Trinity Railway Express provides local service to Dallas where a connection to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system provides connections to several cities in the Dallas area.
Locomotives commonly used on the ''Heartland Flyer'' include the General Electric P42DC and P32-8WH. Rolling stock includes Heritage Fleet ''Hi-Level'' coaches and ''Superliners''. On the end of the train opposite the locomotive, a Non-Powered Control Unit (NPCU) makes the train bi-directional.
A typical ''Heartland Flyer'' train consist:

★ P42DC locomotive

★ ''Hi-Level'' coach

★ ''Superliner'' coach

★ ''Hi-Level'' coach

★ NPCU control car

Threatened discontinuance

The train was threatened with discontinuance during 2005; however, regional passenger rail advocates came out in force on April 11, 2005, for a state capitol rally sponsored by PassengerRailOk.org. Keynote speaker, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett addressed the crowd along with the mayors of Perry, Guthrie, and Purcell, Oklahoma, encouraging the state to expand the train into Kansas.
The rally convinced state lawmakers to keep the ''Heartland Flyer'' in operation for at least one more year. The Oklahoma Legislature passed, and Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed House Bill 1078 that provided an annual $2 million subsidy to continue the service.

Future service

Several proposals for extending the route of the ''Heartland Flyer'' or providing additional service over all or parts of its route.
Expansion planning revolves around portions of the former ''Lone Star'' route and the state-owned route from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

★ Service to Newton, Kansas, to provide a connection to the Chicago-to-Los Angeles ''Southwest Chief'';

★ Service to Kansas City, providing connections to the ''Southwest Chief'' and trains to Saint Louis, Missouri;

★ Service to Tulsa;

★ Service to San Antonio, Texas, via Austin in conjunction with a reroute of the ''Texas Eagle'' west from Fort Worth to El Paso, Texas via Sierra Blanca. This would create another connection with the ''Sunset Limited''; Fort Worth-Los Angeles Proposed Schedule Change Updated October 27, 1999
Part of the route used by the ''Heartland Flyer'' is designated by the USDOT as the South Central High Speed Rail Corridor and is slated to be upgraded to high-speed rail service should funding ever become available. The corridor extends from San Antonio, Texas, to Tulsa through Fort Worth and Oklahoma City. Another branch of this corridor extends from Fort Worth through Dallas to Little Rock, Arkansas.

References

1.

External links

★ ''Heartland Flyer'' Coalition

★ ''Heartland Flyer'' route page at Amtrak.com

★ Amtrak