Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study

minutes early. A later section of this chapter provides further analysis of the factors impacting
the operating speed of the Heartland Flyer and reasons for delays experienced by its passengers.
Connecting Services
The timetable schedule of the Heartland Flyer provided passengers with the ability to
connect to other routes on the Amtrak system as well as local transit services. In Fort Worth,
passengers can connect to the Amtrak Texas Eagle long-distance train for continuing travel south
to Austin and San Antonio (tri-weekly service west to El Paso and Los Angeles) and east and
north to Dallas, Little Rock, St. Louis, and Chicago. The Heartland Flyer schedule allows
passengers to transfer between the Flyer and the Eagle with a minimal amount of waiting time.
Passengers in Fort Worth can also connect to the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail that
serves Dallas and intermediate points, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Connections to the Amtrak national network are also available from Oklahoma City via Amtrak
Thruway Bus service, operated by Jefferson Lines. This service operates overnight between
Kansas City, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City, connecting the Heartland Flyer with two services in
Kansas City—the Southwest Chief long-distance train to Chicago and the Missouri River Runner
service to St. Louis (5).
Corridor Travel Options
While not specifically related to the details of the Heartland Flyer route, a discussion of
the modal options available to travelers in the Oklahoma City to Fort Worth intercity corridor is
particularly relevant in light of this study’s charge to identify modal diversion and induced travel
as impacts of the Heartland Flyer service. In addition to the major highways Interstate 35 and
U.S. Highway 77, intercity bus and commercial air service are modal options available to
travelers in the corridor.
As previously mentioned, two major highways (I-35 and U.S. 77) run parallel to the
Heartland Flyer route between Oklahoma City and Denton, Texas (north of Fort Worth).
Throughout Oklahoma, these two highways run parallel, with U.S. 77 serving the local
communities and I-35 bypassing these communities. Just north of the Red River, the two routes
join and operate concurrently across the Red River to Denton. Near Denton, I-35 divides into
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