Oklahoma City and the Southwest Chief in Newton, Kansas, with one stop in Wichita. The schedule runs mostly overnight since the Southwest Chief arrives in Newton in the early morning. Initial service was operated under contract by Village Tours of Wichita. On October 15, 2021, the northbound Heartland Flyer struck a car hauler north of Thackerville, Oklahoma. The train partially derailed and four passengers were injured. Expansion proposals Extension to Kansas Since its inception, numerous proposal have been made to extend the Heartland Flyer northward from Oklahoma City to Kansas along the original route of the Lone Star, discontinued in 1979. The extended line would serve Wichita Union Station before connecting with the Southwest Chief in Newton, Kansas. Some proposals would further extend the Heartland Flyer from Newton to along the route of the Southwest Chief. A 2009 study conducted by Amtrak proposed four options for the extension. One would extend the current round trip to Newton as a night train. Two would further extend the night train to Kansas City. Three would instead add a new day train to Kansas City from Fort Worth. Four would add the day train but only between Kansas City and Oklahoma City. Through car service with the Southwest Chief was also stated as a possibility. By September 2010, only the first and third options were said to remain under consideration. In late 2011, the Kansas Department of Transportation released the results of a study into new service south to Fort Worth, presenting the options of a night train from Texas to Newton, with start-up costs of $87.5 million and an annual subsidy of $4.4 million, or a day train to Kansas City, with start-up costs of $245.5 million and an annual subsidy of $10 million. On June 9, 2017, Amtrak ran an inspection train between Oklahoma City and Kansas City in order to explore the Heartland Flyer extension to Newton. Local dignitaries, BNSF officials, and DOT representatives from Oklahoma and Kansas were aboard. In June 2021, Amtrak included the extension to Newton in its 15-year expansion vision. The plan also includes two additional round trips between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth. In November 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which could fund the plan. The extension was endorsed by the Oklahoma City Council in April 2022, and by Dodge City in October 2022. Other proposals During the 1990s, service