August 13, 2026 - TRA Newswire -

At today's Regional Transportation Council meeting at the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), Transportation Director Michael Morris assured its members that the Heartland Flyer now has another year of funding.

The Fort Worth to Oklahoma City train, a joint effort of the Oklahoma and Texas Department of Transportation, was put on the critical care list last summer after the Texas Senate Finance Committee stripped funding for the popular train. Last year, the daily service that carried over 80,000 passengers in 2025, faced discontinuance but got a one year reprieve with emergency funding from NCTCOG.

Morris, addressing the elected officials that comprise the Regional Transportation Council, said "I bring good news. Amtrak will be funded for a second year and TxDOT has been asked to put into their legislative request for two more years. We did not need RTC money support to accomplish that."

The transportation director noted that "citizens had come before the open microphone pleading for the Heartland Flyer to be  continued. The Heartland Flyer will continue given the support TxDOT now has for that particular project."

The "Flyer", as regular riders call it, has seen its share of potential suspensions or adjustments from both Texas and Oklahoma lawmakers since the service started in 1999. There have been both emergency and partial state funding issues on both sides of the Red River, but the train continues to run thanks to local and regional support from the business community, students that ride the service and elected officials.  

Letters of support came from State Senator Tan Parker and five Tarrant County State Representatives, Senator Brent Hagenbuch and Representative David Spiller, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, The North Texas Commission, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, and others.  

The daily train originates at Fort Worth Central Station with stops at Gainesville in Texas and Oklahoma station calls at Norman, Purcell, Pauls Valley and Ardmore before terminating at Oklahoma City. It connects with Amtrak's national network Texas Eagle train at Fort Worth and with the Southwest Chief at Newton, Kanas via a bus bridge from Oklahoma City.

See also: https://texasrailadvocates.org/post/clearing-up-misconceptions-on-funding-for-the-odot-txdot-heartland-flyer-talks-are-on-going

Photo credit: Amtrak Media / Fort Worth Central Station