Texas panel OKs $3.5M to keep Amtrak Heartland Flyer rolling

The Texas Transportation Commission yesterday approved the Regional Transportation Council’s (RTC) decision in July to commit $3.5 million to keep the Amtrak Heartland Flyer operating between Fort Worth, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The action means the Amtrak route can continue operating for the next year after facing the possibility of running out of funding, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

The service, which has operated since 1999, faced the possibility of ending after the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) funding request was not included in the state’s final budget. The 206-mile route is jointly funded by TxDOT and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Amtrak welcomed the Texas Transportation Commission’s approval of funding for the Heartland Flyer.

“On behalf of our Amtrak guests who count on daily Heartland Flyer trains, we thank the Texas Transportation Commission for approving the state’s share of funding of the service from the North Central Texas Council of Governments and its Regional Transportation Council,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President Jennifer Mitchell. “We will work with the commission, TxDOT, NCTCOG and other interested parties in Texas for a longer-term state funding solution."

More than 80,000 passengers rode the Heartland Flyer last year, an 11% increase from the previous 12 months, Mitchell said.

This latest funding approval is the second time in recent months that the RTC has stepped in with funding to keep the Heartland Flyer operating. In January, the RTC approved up to $100,000 in regional revenue funding to cover a potential shortfall through the end of the fiscal year.