Heartland Flyer

Infobox rail line
name = "Heartland Flyer"
color =

logo_width =

---

image_width = 300px
caption = A southbound "Heartland Flyer" boarding in Norman, Oklahoma.
type = Inter-city rail
system = Amtrak
status =
locale =
start = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
end = Fort Worth, Texas
stations = 7
routes =
ridership =
open = 14 June 1999
close =
owner = BNSF Railway (track)
operator = Amtrak
character =
stock =
linelength = convert|206|mi|km
tracklength =
notrack =
gauge = RailGauge|ussg
el =
speed =
elevation =

infobox rdt|Amtrak Heartland Flyer
map_state = showThe "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. [cite press release
title=Information Release 07-016
publisher=Oklahoma Department of Transportation
date=2007-03-21
url=http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/public-info/press/07-016_heartland_flyer_easter_bunny.pdf
format=PDF
accessdate=2007-08-12 ]

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, surpassing Amtrak's original 20,000 projection. [cite news | title=Amtrak, ODOT celebrate 1-year anniversary of Heartland Flyer | work=Associated Press | first=Aaron | last=Cooper | date=June 14, 2000 | accessdate=2008-04-28] The "Heartland Flyer" carried 68,000 passengers during FY 2007, and as of September of 2007 had carried over 500,000 passengers since its inception. [cite news | title=Ridership up on Heartland Flyer | work=Associated Press | date=November 9, 2007 | accessdate=2008-04-28]

Route and equipment used

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. A scheduled run between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth takes four hours and fourteen minutes. [cite web
url=http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/jan08/P21.pdf
title=Texas Eagle - Heartland Flyer timetable
accessdate=2008-04-28
date=2007-01-21
format=PDF
publisher=Amtrak]

Locomotives commonly used on the "Heartland Flyer" include the General Electric P42DC and P32-8WH. Rolling stock includes "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
* "Superliner" coach
* "Superliner" coach
* "Superliner" 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 [http://www.passengerrailok.org 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. [cite news | title=Rail passengers rally for Heartland Flyer | work=Associated Press | first=Tim | last=Talley | date=April 11, 2005 | accessdate=2008-04-28] State lawmakers kept the "Heartland Flyer" in operation by passing House Bill 1078 that provided an annual $2 million subsidy to continue the service. [cite news | title=Beefed-up state agency budgets sent to governor | work=Tulsa World | date=May 25, 2005 | first=Marie | last=Price | pg=A10 | accessdate=2008-04-28]

Expansion proposals

Several proposals for extending the route of the "Heartland Flyer" or providing additional service over all or parts of its route have been made over the years. 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", possibly extending all the way to Kansas City; [cite news | title=Amtrak probes area route extensions: Southwest, Midwest services come under scrutiny | work=Lawrence Journal-World | first=Scott | last=Rothschild | date=March 21, 2008 | accessdate=2008-03-05]
* Service to Tulsa; [cite news | title=Flyer service may expand to Kansas | work=Daily Oklahoman | first=Ja'Rena | last=Lunsford | date=March 27, 2008 | accessdate=2008-03-05]

The line to Kansas City would stop at Wichita's Union Station and follow the route of the Amtrak Southwest Chief north of Newton Kansas. Recent interest in Kansas and Oklahoma communities has been sparked by the proposal and many towns have released resolutions supporting the idea and requesting stations should the route ever be extended. Some of these cities include Wichita, which lost its train service with the discontinuence of the Amtrak Lone Star in 1979. Emporia was eliminated as an Amtrak stop in the mid nineties but may once again have a train station. Nearly a dozen other communities ranging in size from the tiny community of Strong City Kansas, pop. 570, to Wichita, with nearly 358,000 residents have passed these resolutions. Amtrak is currently performing a requested study of the route to determine the feasibility of the route. The study should be completed in late 2008 or early 2009. Train service could be possible by late 2009 if funding could make the necessary track improvements from Oklahoma City to Newton Kansas.

* 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"; [cite web
url = http://0048534.netsolhost.com/bairdsub.htm
title =Fort Worth-Los Angeles Proposed Schedule Change Updated October 27, 1999
accessdate = 2007-08-13
date = 1999-10-27
format = HTML
publisher = Texas Association of Rail Passengers

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

External links

* [http://www.heartlandflyer.com/ "Heartland Flyer" Coalition]
* [http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256321396&ssid=137 "Heartland Flyer" route page at Amtrak.com]
* [http://www.amtrak.com/ Amtrak]