Plan would restore rail service to big swath of the Midwest

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Proponents of expanding passenger rail service through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas hope that an anticipated influx of federal infrastructure funding will get the the long-discussed route off the ground.

The project, which is among 39 new routes that Amtrak has proposed, calls for extending the Heartland Flyer. The train now travels south from Oklahoma City in the morning and returns in the evening, with an afternoon layover in Fort Worth, Texas.

With the expansion, one trip would start and end in Newton, Kansas, in the early morning. The expansion also would add two more round trips daily between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.