Transportation in Oklahoma City

With its daily service to Fort Worth, the Heartland Flyer provides access to the nation's rail network and has given Oklahoma City yet another option for inter-state transportation.

There were plans in the early 1990s to build a light rail system for the city as part of the MAPS urban redevelopment program, but the project stalled repeatedly on issues of funding.

Ernest Istook, 5th District Congressman and chairman of the congressional transportation committee, played a major role in killing federal funding for the project.

In April 2021, the Oklahoma legislature announced that further studies for commuter rail through the RTA's Transit System Plan were moving forward.

The corridors would include: Amtrak serves Oklahoma City via the Heartland Flyer, based out of the Art Deco Santa Fe train station in downtown.

It has daily service to the satellite city of Norman and terminates at Fort Worth, Texas where passengers can transfer to the nation's rail network.

There is currently a major push to expand the Heartland Flyer north into Kansas since the service has been guaranteed by recent state contributions.

There is also a heritage rail line under re-construction that will connect Adventure District in NE Oklahoma City to downtown.

The line likely would run from the Santa Fe train station through Bricktown and the Oklahoma Health Center through the Eastside to Adventure District attractions such as the Oklahoma City Zoological Park, Remington Park, and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

Embark is the public transit provider with its new bus terminal downtown at NW 5th Street and Hudson Avenue.