I finally took a trip on the Hearland flyer. It was great, very enjoyable and relaxing. Plug in's for the I-phone, roomy seats etc. Upon arriving at the station It seemed like an episode of Life after People. It looked rundown and abandoned. No seating, just a shell of a once grand place. Myself and others agreed in an open conversation that improvements are necessary. Move down the track to Ft Worth it was a wow moment for them and a disappointment for OKC. What a great facility. The station was bustling with lots of people and activity. It was clean and had all the amenities to make it successful. Clean bathrooms, food and a plethora of helpful brochures to encourage one to explore the areas sites and attractions. You can catch Greyhound, the city bus service, Am Track and the Dallas Ft Worth express at one location. Took the bus to the Stockyards and it was so easy to do, since it was at one location. I have wanted to take the OKC bus, but it would take me over an hour to get where a 15 minute drive would take. The routes at least for me are not that convenient.

Maybe the city leaders can hop on the H L F and go take a look at a wonderful facility. In my eyes Ft Worth gets a 110% on this one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth_%28Amtrak_station%29

http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org/itcstation.html

You gotta remember though, FTW is a major stop on a major Amtrak route (The Texas Eagle, which connects San Antonio to Chicago)! It is a true intermodal facility. And it's nowhere near the size of, say a Union Station in New York City or Chicago. Oklahoma City could definitely have a station like this. Even if it were to be located, say, where Pull-A-Part is, it would still be within walking distance of downtown.

My girlfriend and I walked from around where the FTW Convention Center is to the station and it was a breeze. Looks like its a ways away on Google Maps but it was easy.

When and if Amtrak carries our route up to KC, then a nicer station will definitely be needed.

Santa Fe (the current OKC Amtrak station) was chosen as the inter-modal hub by the hub committee and will be spruced up and have multiple forms of transportation connected or near by.

Santa Fe (the current OKC Amtrak station) was chosen as the inter-modal hub by the hub committee and will be spruced up and have multiple forms of transportation connected or near by.

Great news. When will this be happening?

It is part of MAPS3 plan... They have 10 million allocated to the project which would include purchasing the property and what ever else they find necessary and within budget to get it started. I am not sure of the timeline but i am pretty sure there is one somewhere.

If it is tied to the transit up, I think work starts in 2-3 years based on the initial timeline. Of course, it is humorous to think of the current station as an intermodal hub considering how small the location is and won't really do much to connect air/ground/rail.

I've always wanted to ride on the Heartland Flyer just to do it. Is it worth it just for the scenery and experience? The wife and I would probably literally ride it down play around in FT Worth and ride back that night. Maybe catch a hotel and go back the next day. She's never been on a train and it's been a couple decades since I have.

Also is it easy to get around in FT Worth from the station? We obviously wouldn't have a car and would be looking for stuff to do for a few hours before we catch the train back.

Sundance Square isn't far at all from the FW station, so you're there and back trip could work for you. You would have a couple of hours, assuming on time arrival. For an overnight, there's a Ramada, or used to be, right by the station. For better digs, at Sundance there is Ms. Etta's b&b. Bass Performance Hall is also just off the square so you can time your weekend to something that interests you and take in the show that night.

It's a trip I've been meaning to enjoy myself.

I've always wanted to ride on the Heartland Flyer just to do it. Is it worth it just for the scenery and experience? The wife and I would probably literally ride it down play around in FT Worth and ride back that night. Maybe catch a hotel and go back the next day. She's never been on a train and it's been a couple decades since I have.

Also is it easy to get around in FT Worth from the station? We obviously wouldn't have a car and would be looking for stuff to do for a few hours before we catch the train back.

My wife and son and I took our first trip a couple of years ago. It was a great experience. The seating is very comfortable with lots of leg room. You can get up and walk to the lower level snack car for sandwiches and drinks.

The brief stops in a number of small towns gives you a glimpse of some historic depots. Probably the biggest surprise and most outstanding scenic part of the trip is where the route winds along the banks of the Wa****a River and cuts through a hidden valley in the Arbuckle Mountains that is not accessible by highway or other road.

You can get a taxi or rent a car on-site at the Ft. Worth station. The Ft. Worth science museum and Imax theatre are a quick cab ride just west of downtown.

If you have a weekend and want to experience a complete rail transit experience, you can directly connect to the Trinity Rail Express commuter rail train at the Ft. Worth Station and take it to Dallas Union Station. There you can travel just about anywhere you want in the Dallas Metro using their DART light rail system.

Edit Note: That's bizarre...the forum program will not post the name of the river apparently due to those certain four letters contained in the word...hilarious.

... Edit Note: That's bizarre...the forum program will not post the name of the river apparently due to those certain four letters contained in the word...hilarious.

Yeah, I laughed at that as well. While I appreciate the value of filters .... sheeeesh.

The downtown Amtrak station (at least the building itself) is owned by a private real estate investor and they have done a poor job of maintaining it. For a while there, it wasn't even open when some of the trains were scheduled to leave and arrive.

A couple of years ago I took some photos of the outside and Steve Lackmeyer picked up on them and used them in his blog, specifically calling out the owners.

It's a strange situation that what most people would assume to be a public building is held and managed privately -- and certainly not very well.

Does the owners last name start with a B and end with an R? I would almost bet it does.

Does the owners last name start with a B and end with an R?

Bingo! (or at least I think so....)

Yes, I believe you are right rondvu.

It's unfortunate that the building is in the shape it is. Thankfully, most out-of-towners never step foot in the place!

The owners of the facility are not in charge of operations or maintenance of the facility. They are just the landlord and the tennant is ODOT. Also, the HP commission won't let them do anything to the appearance of the outside because of its historical nature.

The owners of the facility are not in charge of operations or maintenance of the facility. They are just the landlord and the tennant is ODOT. Also, the HP commission won't let them do anything to the appearance of the outside because of its historical nature.

That is true now, but that only came to be a few months ago. Prior to that ODOT nor Amtrak even had a lease.

Thought they had one but it had lapsed and while they were working out a new one, they just carried over the previous terms while they were doing so (sort of like the City does with Fire/police when their contract is expired and they are still working on the new one).???

The owners of the facility are not in charge of operations or maintenance of the facility. They are just the landlord and the tennant is ODOT. Also, the HP commission won't let them do anything to the appearance of the outside because of its historical nature.

The HP Commission does NOT review this structure for proposed changes. The Downtown Design Review Committee does, and changes to the outside are reviewed against the Downtown ordinance.

Thought they had one but it had lapsed and while they were working out a new one, they just carried over the previous terms while they were doing so (sort of like the City does with Fire/police when their contract is expired and they are still working on the new one).???

That is still operating without a lease. If I recall, the original lease was only for the platform anyhow.

When this facility was originally rehabilitated the historical folks approved a technique
to clean the outside walls and this is what was acheived. Yes ODOT did operate without an official lease until last year. They have always been in charge of the facility
in regards to Amtrak operations.

okcboy, I'm not talking about changes to the exterior... I'm talking about trash in the parking lot, grime all over the outside, a sign with half the letters missing and a general state of disrepair.

All of that is absolutely the responsibility of the landlord/owner, especially since they have been generating revenue by leasing the building for events. It's by no means exclusively leased for transportation:

http://www.brewerentertainment.com/live.asp

We have family that decided to come up for a visit on Amtrak a few months ago. They loved it, but I have to agree about the desolate feeling of the building. It was creepy going in there at night to pick them up. No human life in the building, even though there was a Thunder game just ending across the street and people were everywhere outside. Thankfully we had gone to the game, and paid to park in the station lot for the game, or we would have had nowhere to park to pick them up.

After seeing this video it gives me a glitter of hope for OKC's Santa Fe Depot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSeIKp1qZFI&feature=BFa&list=PLC6B43DCD0FEBBFD1&index=5

You will have to give me more details. I know the parking operators clean the parking lot daily. Under the BID assesment the streets and sidewalks are cleaned by DOKC. Is this an Amtrak sign you are talking about? Grime? Also, that website is about to be changed. There hasn't been any events in there in a long long time. Do you live here and see this on a consistancy? If so I will advise ODOT of these issues.

This lease is not a full service lease. Let me know what the responsibilities of the owner and landlord are.

FInally saw the Ft Worth Intermodal Transit Center today. I think the new OKC center will probably look a lot like that when it is finally done. If this is the case, the Santa Fe Depot would probably be fine and certainly the most cost effective. The primary obstacle will be integrating more passenger platforms on the viaduct and still maintaining BNSF traffic volume - easily overcome. An extensive rehabilitation / renovation of the depot, additional passenger platforms and sheds, and reconfiguring the street level to accomodate bus and street car traffic ought to be the greatest expenses. I also think the site has sufficient room for future growth in mass transit traffic volume and hopefully high speed rail.

I last took the Heartland Flyer to OKC six years ago on one of my first (of now many) trips up there. I have to admit, after leaving the comparably luxurious Fort Worth Intermodal depot, arriving to a dimly-lit, mostly-empty station in a supposedly-thriving state capital was a let-down. Then again, once I left there, I had a great time visiting all sorts of neat places around OKC, Norman, etc.

It'd be nice to see OKC do something positive with the old depot. One day! I'm just so proud of the city and its residents for all they've done for downtown in the last 20 years.