Amtrak Connections Increase For Oklahoma Railfans

WASHINGTON, DC - Oklahoma's passenger rail fans received a second dose of good news this year with the imminent return of daily service to Amtrak's cross-country trains. Starting later this month passengers will be able to connect daily to major cities nationwide via the Heartland Flyer service.

Amtrak had earlier announced its desire to expand Flyer service north and south, but whilst that expansion remains some way off, the return of daily cross-country connections will begin in just two weeks.

The following trains begin daily service on May 24th :

California Zephyr (Chicago to San Francisco, via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Sacramento)

Texas Eagle (Chicago to Los Angeles, via St. Louis, Dallas, San Antonio)

Empire Builder (Chicago to Portland and Seattle via Minneapolis/St Paul)

On May 31st Amtrak will then add :

Southwest Chief (Chicago to Los Angeles via Kansas City and Albuquerque)

Lake Shore Limited (Chicago to New York and Boston, via Buffalo and Albany)

Capitol Limited (Chicago to Washington DC, via Cleveland and Pittsburgh)

Finally on June 7th, Amtrak will reintroduce the Crescent, Palmetto, Silver Meteor and Silver Star services, providing daily connections to the southeast of the country - Miami, Atlanta, Raleigh, Savannah, Jacksonville and New Orleans.

Amtrak's long distance services were reduced to running just three times per week as a result of the pandemic. The reintroduction of daily service is possible due to funding provided by the stimulus package, approved by Congress and signed by the President earlier this year.

Details on Amtrak's schedules and destinations can be found at www.amtrak.com