Train Transfers To and From Eisenhower National Airport

Wichita does not have an operational railway; therefore, train transfer is not accessible in the metro.

Union Station was the former railway station in Wichita, Kansas, until the end of its passenger service in 1979. Today, it serves as a commercial office space.

The railway station opened in 1914 to serve the commuting public. It serves as the city’s primary arrival and departure point of destination. These include railroads like the Frisco, Santa Fe, and Rock Island serving passengers to and from Chicago, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.

In 1979, the station ended its service when Amtrak stopped its Lone Star line from serving the Chicago-Houston route.

However, the closest inter-city railway station is in Newton, 25 miles from Wichita, which Southwest Chief currently serves with the Chicago-Los Angeles route.

The Union Station and nearby establishments have been redeveloped as commercial spaces and retail offices. Cox Communications Inc., an American digital cable television provider, used the old station as its local headquarters until 2007.

In 2013, the local real estate company, Occidental Management, bought the station and made renovations.

In 2017, renovations continued while Occidental Management resumed leasing commercial spaces in the neighboring buildings.

The estimated cost for the building’s restoration was $54 million.

There have been several proposals to bring back the Amtrak service in Wichita and plans for extending the passenger service of the Heartland Flyer, which currently runs between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, to Newton, Kansas.

In June 2021, Amtrak released a plan to add two more round-trip routes between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, while extending its original round-trip to Newton. However, there is no definite timeline yet.