No car, no problem: Amtrak expansion to unlock new travel options in the Midwest

Back in my home state of Oklahoma, my friend group likes to go on road trips to Dallas. These excursions require hours of extensive planning: divvying up gas money, assigning drivers, and identifying which of our vehicles can survive Oklahoma’s highways. When I moved to Connecticut for college, weekend trips to nearby cities became so much simpler – all because of Amtrak.

Compared to states on the vast plains of the Midwest, New England states are small, close together and connected by an extensive mass transit system, including passenger rail. Trips that might have required a car (which I don’t own) in my home state suddenly became possible. Thanks to trains, my availability became, “let me know if you’re up here.” If my Midwestern friends were anywhere in the Northeast, I could probably find a way to get to them. 

Could it someday be possible to experience the same freedom and simplicity back home in Oklahoma? That possibility is a little closer to reality following a federal investment of $2.1 billion in December 2023 to improve and advance Amtrak service nationwide. Included in that plan is a proposal to expand Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer service – which currently connects Fort Worth and Oklahoma City – northward to Newton, Kansas, with the addition of new stops in multiple Oklahoma cities. Service to Fort Worth, Texas, would also increase in frequency from one to three times a day. 

 The Federal Railroad Administration, in its long-distance service study, also assessed the potential of restoring long-distance routes that had been discontinued in the past. Among the potential routes assessed was service from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, connecting Oklahoma’s two largest cities. The implementation of this proposal would mark the first passenger rail service to reach Tulsa since 1971. 

Addition of these new services wouldn’t just connect places within Oklahoma – it would also link the state to the broader Amtrak network, giving travelers access to destinations including Albuquerque, Kansas City and Chicago and increasing the convenience of existing connections to cities such as Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Tucson. 

More frequent, more convenient rail options would be competitive with other modes of travel. A nonstop one-way flight from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, for example, costs several hundred dollars and takes an hour, not including time spent checking in, going through security, and boarding. Driving a personal car costs about $20 for gas and takes 3 hours, but that doesn’t account for the costs of carbon emissions, traffic and actually maintaining and owning a car. An Amtrak ride, at a cost of as little as $20 for a nonrefundable ticket and a transit time of 4 hours, seems reasonable. But today, with only one train a day each way between the two cities, the number of people who can make use of it is limited. 

When I think of the benefits of expanded rail in Oklahoma, I think of the college students who’ve recounted horror stories to me of scant parking spots and costly gas prices. I think of being able to visit friends in Texas and Kansas the way I do with friends in New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania… or of taking weekend getaways to Dallas, St. Louis and Branson that are as easy as the ones I take in the Northeast.

But the benefits extend way beyond making life easier or more fun for college students like me. In addition to the economic benefits Oklahomans could gain from increased tourism and employment opportunities, these rail options are a step toward a cleaner and more sustainable transportation network. Traveling with Amtrak is 34% more energy-efficient than flying and 46% more than driving, making it the best low-carbon option for medium- to long-distance travel. 

It’s no wonder that Amtrak expansion enjoys bipartisan support at the state and local levels – for example, the Oklahoma City Council unanimously approved a resolution to expand the Heartland Flyer route, with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt also expressing support.

The expansion of Amtrak is not unique to Oklahoma or the Midwest, but is taking place across the U.S. Amtrak plans to double its ridership by 2040, and has released extensive goals for the next 15 years. From the restoration of train routes in the Pacific Northwest to building a “rail hub” in Atlanta, increasing Amtrak’s nationwide presence and magnitude could shift the national narrative on passenger rail. Elsewhere in the Midwest, for example, a new Amtrak route linking St. Paul to Chicago carried 18,500 passengers in its first month, meeting the agency’s optimistic expectations and even turning an early profit. 

It may be years or decades until Amtrak’s expansion plans are fully realized, but it’s not too soon to get excited about the possibilities. With growing demand for clean, sustainable, affordable transportation (and growing frustration with flying), expanded rail transportation can’t come soon enough.

In the near future, I hope I can tell my Northeastern friends to “let me know if you’re down here” and be able to meet them anywhere in the Midwest.