The Heartland Flyer — a daily Fort Worth-Oklahoma City passenger train — is in jeopardy again, but North Texas tourism could still get a boost from a proposed passenger train extension through Louisiana.
Officials launched an 18-month, $500,000 study of a potential westward extension of Amtrak’s Crescent line, a New Orleans-Atlanta-New York route. The study includes a look at design aspects and rail station improvements. Under the proposal, the train could split in Meridian, Mississippi, and one segment would continue through East Texas to Dallas and Fort Worth.
For North Texans, the 345-mile extension could provide direct rail access to cities and universities in several Southern states and on the East Coast.
“In essence you would be able to do a one-seat ride from Fort Worth to New York City,” said Peter LeCody, president of Texas Rail Advocates, a Dallas-based nonprofit that supports passenger rail systems. “You wouldn’t have to go through Chicago as you now do with the Texas Eagle (train).”
The expansion is supported by the I-20 Corridor Council, which seeks to reestablish passenger rail service from Fort Worth to Atlanta with connections to Washington, D.C., and New York.
Tourism is big business in Fort Worth. About 11.7 million visitors came to Fort Worth last year, generating a $3.6 billion economic impact, according to Visit Fort Worth.
The train route along Interstate 20, if approved, would be under the federal train system since the line would go beyond 750 miles, unlike the Heartland Flyer, a 206-mile train that carries 80,000 passengers each year.
A proposed rail extension could link North Texas to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia before heading to Washington, D.C., and New York City. (Courtesy | I-20 Corridor Council)
The rail expansion study comes as the Heartland Flyer, a joint effort between Texas and Oklahoma, is at risk of shuttering because of a lack of funding. Texas has previously paid about $2.6 million each year.
The Texas Department of Transportation issued a notice April 20 that the service will end on Aug. 31.
TxDOT officials said the state of Texas does not have funding allocated in fiscal year 2027, which begins Sept. 1, for its share of the Heartland Flyer route.
“The state will not be able to fund the route after that date,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc D. Williams said in a letter to the National Passenger Railroad Corp., or Amtrak.
In April, Oklahoma legislators stripped their share of funding — $2.5 million — from the 2027 budget, LeCody said.
The Heartland Flyer was saved last year after the North Central Texas Council of Governments stepped in to provide $3.5 million in funding to avoid service disruptions. That money was supplied from Regional Toll Revenue funds to cover a shortfall of about $72,000.
LeCody said conversations are underway between the council of governments and TxDOT to determine funding for the Flyer in fiscal 2027.
“They just need to find what is the key ingredient for the second year of funding,” LeCody said.
The Heartland Flyer, launched in 1999, has seen increasing ridership as the train has become a regional tourism tool, providing at least $5.3 million in direct economic benefits and an estimated $23.7 million in overall economic activity, according to Amtrak.
Oklahoma benefits as well. A recent economic study by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation showed that the state had a $9 million impact from visitor spending by passengers who travel to Oklahoma City.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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