OKC-FTW Heartland Flyer[Crawler] (Tulsa, Pauls Valley: car rental, transporting, rental)

[airtractorfan]

Here is my review of the experience.

My family and myself rode the train from OKC to FTW on Thursday March 20 and returned on Friday March 21,2008.The train was 1-1/2 hours late arriving in Ft.Worth although we left OKC on time. Evidently the freight trains have priority over Amtrak passenger trains. We had stop and wait over an hour for a northbound freight on the way to FTW.

The return trip on Friday March 21 was 1 hour late arriving in OKC.We once again had to wait for a freight at Saginaw Texas before we could proceed north to OKC.

The train condition of seats,restrooms,ect. was in overall good condition both ways although my wife's seat legrest would not extend.The crew was overall courteous both directions.The train does have a cafe car which is opened during part of the trip.OKC Amtrak station is unstaffed with personnel so you must fend for yourself at the station. The FTW station is staffed and Enterprise Car Rental counter is right there at the station along with the local trains and Greyhound bus lines.

The most scenic part of the trip is about 5-10 minutes in the Arbuckle Mountains along the river and we saw a lot of Hawks and one Eagle in this area on Thursday.the Train also passes by Texas Motor Speedway and FTW Alliance Airport.

If not for the late trains both directions I would have rated this trip about a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.
I have renamed the train the Heartland Crawler instead of the Heartland Flyer.Having said this opinion of mine I would recommend the ride to any train buff and especially ride the route in late Spring[green] or early Fall [the colors].

[Amazonchix]

Unfortunately, your experience with the late arrivals is not uncommon. My mother takes the train frequently to Fort Worth and back. I'm usually the one waiting around to go pick her up in OKC. I used to get so wore out with the train being late...now I just expect it. We now have a system where she calls me on her cell when they are approaching Pauls Valley so I have a heads up to when they'll be in OKC. Other than the time factor, my mother finds the train wonderful. I've riden it once from Ft Worth to OKC on a one way ride. I liked that I didn't have to bother with traffic and I was able to catch up on my reading.

[peggydavis]

The possible extension of the train service to Kansas City would really be great.

[Synopsis]

How much is the trip on the Heartland Crawler? Thanks for the review of your ride. I've never ridden that train before. I ride the Texas T from FW to Dallas and it's always a really neat experience. I love trains..

[airtractorfan]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

How much is the trip on the Heartland Crawler? Thanks for the review of your ride. I've never ridden that train before. I ride the Texas T from FW to Dallas and it's always a really neat experience. I love trains..

I just checked my ticket stubs and the round trip cost was $52.20 [adult fare] and I used online booking with the tickets mailed to me. Allow 10 days advanced booking for tickets by mail or pay a $15.00 FedEx charge for next day service.The fares for children 15 years old or less are cheaper.
People did buy their tickets from the conductor @ OKC and at the station in FTW.
The OKC station is next to Bricktown where you can find things to do.We walked about 8 blocks from the FTW station to the historic district and found some nice eateries.

[Amazonchix]

My mother uses her AAA discount for her tickets. I believe they also give student discounts to folks in college.

[RogueMom]

I love trains also - we have the Empire Builder that goes from Montana all the way to Chicago out here, but there are always a lot of these "delays" and it can be frustrating. However, everyone on the train that I met said they really enjoy train travel and would gladly leave their cars at home and utilize trains a lot more if more routes were available and it did not take so long to get places on them. Train travel could be the answer to many of our future transportation issues, but more emphasis and funding needs to be put into this country's rail systems. The current administration wanted to cut ALL funding for Amtrak, which is a shame, especially in light of the cost of gasoline and while we are trying to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Many other countries have great rail systems. In Montana, after a lot of grassroots efforts by rail "fans" and petitions from the general public, one of the Senators out here got a bill through to extend, improve, and expand rail travel in this state. The BEST thing you can do is contact your legislators there in Oklahoma and let it be known you want better and expanded train service, and keep the pressure on!

[airtractorfan]

Originally Posted by montanamom

I love trains also - we have the Empire Builder that goes from Montana all the way to Chicago out here, but there are always a lot of these "delays" and it can be frustrating. However, everyone on the train that I met said they really enjoy train travel and would gladly leave their cars at home and utilize trains a lot more if more routes were available and it did not take so long to get places on them. Train travel could be the answer to many of our future transportation issues, but more emphasis and funding needs to be put into this country's rail systems. The current administration wanted to cut ALL funding for Amtrak, which is a shame, especially in light of the cost of gasoline and while we are trying to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Many other countries have great rail systems. In Montana, after a lot of grassroots efforts by rail "fans" and petitions from the general public, one of the Senators out here got a bill through to extend, improve, and expand rail travel in this state. The BEST thing you can do is contact your legislators there in Oklahoma and let it be known you want better and expanded train service, and keep the pressure on!

I live in Tulsa and it is pathetic that we have absolutely NO PASSENGER TRAIN SERVICE.This is a metropolitan area of about 700,000 people.
This just shows how BACKWARDS the politicians are who set on the House and Senate transportation committees.They continually complain about our dependence on foreign oil but fail to take any action to correct the problem.I wish we had any kind of Amtrak service here even if ran late that is still better than no service at all.
I realize the lobbyists for the oil companies,airlines,truckers do not want to see the growth of rail service for personal greed reasons.
It blows my mind that we do not have any HIGH SPEED RAIL SERVICE in the U.S as does Japan and parts of Europe.Just another example of the backwards mindset of our political leaders.
I do not ride trains very often but would if the service was available and reasonably convenient.

[Synopsis]

I agree with both of you. Trains are a very economic way of transporting people and it is actually an enjoyable experience while air travel is just horrible. I hope OkC and Tulsa hook up through some sort of rail system in the future; it would be beneficial for both cities.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by airtractorfan

I just checked my ticket stubs and the round trip cost was $52.20 [adult fare] and I used online booking with the tickets mailed to me. Allow 10 days advanced booking for tickets by mail or pay a $15.00 FedEx charge for next day service.The fares for children 15 years old or less are cheaper.
People did buy their tickets from the conductor @ OKC and at the station in FTW.
The OKC station is next to Bricktown where you can find things to do.We walked about 8 blocks from the FTW station to the historic district and found some nice eateries.

52.20 for round trip tickets? That's pretty cheap, considering it costs about twice that to go in a car with gas prices as high as they are.