The Heartland Flyer carries passengers between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth once a day in each direction. The route opened to the public on June 14, 1999, making next week its 26th birthday.
But soon after that, it may run no more. The Texas legislature closed out its lawmaking session Monday without funding its share of the route's budget.
The Texas Department of Transportation requested $7 million from the state's budget for the Heartland Flyer for Texas's Fiscal Years 2026-2027 — a period that runs from Sep. 1, 2025 through Aug. 31, 2027 in Regular Years.
That money is not in the final budget approved by Texas lawmakers.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says he's not picking up the slack.
"We'll see what we have to do on this side," Stitt said. "We're not going to pick up their end of that. And so we're not sure exactly what's going to happen with that."
The Texas Department of Transportation says it does not have any contractual obligations to its Oklahoma counterpart.
"TxDOT's contractual obligations are with Amtrak," an agency spokesperson said in an email. Other questions about the route's future were referred to Amtrak, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has been developing plans to extend the route to Newton, Kansas, where passengers could transfer to several long-haul routes. The loss of Texas's funding and the changes to federal priorities under the Trump Administration have added uncertainty to that project's future.
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