FORT WORTH — Nearly 400 miles north, Rod Kreie, the mayor of Newton, Kansas, dreams of a future when he and his friends can board a southbound Amtrak train to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Dallas Cowboys at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
Currently, the nearest north-south train from Fort Worth, Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer, terminates in Oklahoma City—about 200 miles south of Kreie’s hometown of roughly 18,000 residents. However, a significant initiative from the Biden administration aims to revitalize the nation’s passenger rail system by extending the Heartland Flyer all the way to Newton, potentially elevating Fort Worth’s role as a major hub for national rail travel.
This initiative represents the largest passenger rail revitalization effort since the establishment of Amtrak over 50 years ago. Funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program is set to allocate $66 billion toward the creation, restoration, and extension of conventional rail lines, as well as authorize some of the first high-speed routes in the nation, including at least two in Texas.
“The opportunities this could create for our economy are immense,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker told the Fort Worth Report, emphasizing how an expanded national rail network would enhance the North Texas region’s economic and cultural connections with other cities. “Given the growth we’re witnessing in North Texas, we must seize the opportunity for passenger rail.”
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