Oklahoma City (Amtrak Station)

Oklahoma City (Amtrak Station)

Oklahoma City's Amtrak station is known as the Santa Fe Depot, and has a station ID OKC, similar to the city's airport IATA code. The train station is an Art Deco structure located in downtown Oklahoma City at 100 South E.K. Gaylord Boulevard. Amtrak's Heartland Flyer makes one daily round-trip from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas and back each day.

Santa Fe Depot was served by Amtrak's Chicago to Houston Lone Star until October 9, 1979. Prior to 1974, it was served by the Texas Chief, initially operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and later by Amtrak.

The station was purchased from the Santa Fe Railway in 1998 by Jim Brewer, a developer responsible for creating the nearby Bricktown entertainment district. It was soon renovated using $2 million funds provided through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to make it ADA-compliant and allow train service to begin in 1999. Another $3.1 million renovation was completed in 2007, and additional ADA features were added with a $30,000 project following the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Until 2010, Amtrak was operating at the station through an informal agreement made in 1998 with Brewer Entertainment. That agreement allowed the railroad to use the station rent-free, but required the state to pay for utilities and other costs associated with station operations. No official lease had been drawn up until at least 2010, when Brent Brewer locked the doors of the depot on September 27 and 29, forcing new negotiations with ODOT.

On 21 December 2010, it was announced that the ODOT had signed a lease of the station and parking lot for 25 months, with the option to extend the lease for up to ten years.