Kansas Senator Jerry Moran has announced a federal grant to begin planning and development for an extension of Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer route to connect passenger rail service between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth with Wichita and Newton.

The $500,000 grant is from the Federal Railroad Administration.  Moran said in a press release that he has been working with local, state and federal leaders for several years to connect the Heartland Flyer to Kansas.  He said that connection will support new economic opportunities for businesses and provide a new means of travel along the route.  He said he’s pleased to see this first step in the process, and he’s looking forward to more talks with stakeholders.

The proposed extension of the Heartland Flyer would include stops in Wichita, Newton and a new stop in Arkansas City.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a statement saying “The extension of the Heartland Flyer Passenger Rail would further connect Kansans to Oklahoma City and North Central Texas, unlocking business, educational, and cultural opportunities to Kansans and enabling our neighbors to the south to add to the Kansas economy.”

The Kansas Department of Transportation has already completed a scope, schedule, cost estimate, and other preliminary staging needed for the Heartland Flyer expansion. This advance work, combined with ongoing support of state and local governments, significantly strengthened the application from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and it advanced the Heartland Flyer extension into the FRA funding pipeline. 

The Heartland Flyer Corridor was discontinued in 1979. The proposed extension would re-connect Oklahoma and Kansas communities north to the national Amtrak network via the Southwest Chief, allowing residents and travelers to access tremendous mobility available through the major east-west route. The extension is expected to positively impact ridership throughout the Midwest and beyond by connecting six of the 50 most populated cities in the U.S.