Predecessors The rail corridor utilized by the
Heartland Flyer was built in 1887 by the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (shortened to the "Santa Fe") to join its Texas-based
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe subsidiary to the main Santa Fe network. The railroad consisted of two segments: one built south from
Arkansas City, Kansas, and one built north from Fort Worth, Texas; the two segments met in modern-day
Purcell, Oklahoma. The
Land Rush of 1889 followed shortly after, causing many of the railroad stations in Oklahoma to become the centerpieces of permanent settlements; Oklahoma City is a notable example. The corridor saw use by the Santa Fe for both freight (particularly the movement of cattle)
Inauguration in 2001. In late 1998, Oklahoma and Kansas state officials began meeting in an effort to restore passenger service along the corridor. Initial plans called for a train from Fort Worth to
Kansas City, though this was eventually pared down to the current route for budgetary reasons. On May 18, 1999, Amtrak began taking reservations for the route, tentatively named "The New Train". Senator
Don Nickles sponsored a "Name the Train" contest, encouraging Oklahoma schoolchildren to pick a name for the new route. The winning name was submitted by 11-year-old Katie Moore of
Del City, Oklahoma, who christened the new train on its first run. The
Heartland Flyer was inaugurated on June 14, 1999, with a demonstration trip from Fort Worth to Oklahoma City, which carried state officials, Amtrak board members, and mayors for the serviced cities.
Regular service The state of Oklahoma initially received $23 million in federal funding for the route, In response, state lawmakers passed House Bill 1078, which provided an annual $2 million subsidy to continue the service; however, the route was not extended. The route carried its 500,000th passenger in September 2007 and its millionth in November 2013. In April 2016, Amtrak began
Thruway bus service between the
Heartland Flyer in Oklahoma City and the
Southwest Chief in
Newton, Kansas, with one stop in
Wichita. The schedule runs mostly overnight because the
Southwest Chief running both eastbound and westbound calls on Newton in the early morning hours. Initial service was operated under contract by Village Tours of Wichita. Between June 13–18, 2024, the service celebrated its 25th anniversary. The train was extended to its "Big Game Train" length, which included a "Sightseer" lounge, tickets were discounted, and giveaways were held. Additionally, the southbound lead locomotive on the train (
P42DC #168) was given a special "Heartland Flyer's 25th anniversary" decal. In April 2025, the Texas legislature stripped funding from the train, putting the route at risk of being discontinued. In June 2025, the budget went through without funding for the train and Oklahoma Governor
Kevin Stitt announced that Oklahoma would not pick up that part of the cost. Shortly afterwards, Amtrak announced that if funding was not restored, the train's last run would be no later than October 1, 2025 with a specific date to be determined at a later time. On July 10, 2025, the
North Central Texas Council of Governments awarded $3.5 million from its Regional Toll Revenue allocations to keep the train running into 2026. However, in 2026, the TxDOT indicated the state of Texas did not have the funding available to continue its portion of the service, and Oklahoma lawmakers were not including funding in Oklahoma’s appropriations bill. Hence the service would terminate August 31, 2026. ==Proposed expansion==