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New Mexico legislator to introduce funding bill for ‘Southwest Chief’ route
Its like 500 Million Dollars to 1 Billion Dollars to get Raton Pass into A shape again not 200 million that like to line in C shape again for maybe 5 years.
I live in New Mexico and have been following the politics of railroads in the state for some time, and write an occasional blog on passenger rail. It is supreme irony that, in order to keep Amtrak running through Albuquerque, we now have to fund maintenance on the track that Gov. Martinez effectively gave back to BNSF precisely because it would be too costly to maintain. (I do not think a rerouted Southwest Chief would stop in Albuquerque. Instead, the likely result of the reroute would be a stop in Belen, NM with bus–ugh!–service to Albuquerque. Only if New Mexico Rail Runner gets involved could we expect an “all rail” ride from Albuquerque or Santa Fe. That would be predicated on Amtrak actually making connections, as I would hate to have to wait hours at a Belen station.) But back to the topic: In all fairness, Gov. Richardson should never have entered into a deal to purchase the BNSF line from Albuquerque to Raton, but he was desperate for political points, had an open purse, and BNSF saw him coming a milepost away. Rep. Gonzales has the right idea, though. It’s the best result coming out of a bad situation, and would be in line with Gov. Martinez’s other so-called initiatives to garner more business and tourism. The only good I could see coming from a reroute would be if New Mexico decided to fund a regional Amtrak route from Belen to Las Vegas, NM, or Raton (or jointly with Colorado to Denver) that would serve Santa Fe and NM Highlands University in Las Vegas.
My heart says let’s do it. But my head says this is almost a bridge to nowhere.
Why should it be a federal issue? Amtrak and BNSF have both made clear that it would be just fine rerouting it via BNSF’s Transcon. This is clearly a local issue as (other than Albuquerque), all of the towns served by the Chief are tiny towns, which (by adding up the 2010 census counts of all of the towns served by the route excluding Albuquerque) have a smaller combined population than the city of Amarillo (which the rerouted train would run through) itself. The only people that benefit by the train taking the Raton Pass route are the small towns that it serves. The distance is longer and the route is much less straight than the Transcon. Also, a rerouting of the train would still enable it to serve Albuquerque.
One of two options:
1)it could back into & out of Albuquerque, which is not very far from the BNSF Transcon mainline
2)it could serve Belen, New Mexico (a suburb of Albuquerque located on the Transcon just south of the city) which is served by the city’s New Mexico Rail Runner commuter train and, given that connection, makes it a perfect de facto Albuquerque station, as people in Albuquerque who want to ride the Amtrak could take the commuter train to Belen and board Amtrak from there. This second option would also greatly benefit the Rail Runner which has been publicly criticized for years for lower than projected ridership.
So glad to see states seeing the value of what a Long Didtance train can do for their communities . Not only do they provide a service of well needed transport, they do develope local economies,and create jobs. Many don’t understand the Long Distance train concept,maybe that’s why they get attacked so often.
Any photo ops. In that area?
It is about time for the states to step up and save this route. The section from Trinidad to Albuquerque could well be the backbone of a “Front Range” corridor from Casper or Cheyenne to at least Albuquerque and passing through Ft. Collins, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Trinidad, Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Susana Martinez expressed interest in maintaining the Southwest Chief’s current route? Sounds like lip service to me. She wouldn’t wanted the Rail Runner to exist if she was in office before it’s inception.
IF ONLY KANSAS AND COLORADO WOULD DO THE SAME!
Wow, that’s a shock; the Governor Susana Martinez cares at all about the future of the Southwest Chief. However, I believe her concern amounts to mere lip service. If Gov. Martinez had her way, there would have been no New Mexico Rail Runner commuter trains.
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Don’t bet on Kansas. This state which chooses Creation (“intelligent design”) over evolution in their school ciriculum; The infamous Westborough Baptist Church; to name a few. Kansas is a very backward state.
Mel and Mo, Kansas is actually on the right track. California is way off the deep end. Funny, though, how this is an article about funding a rail line service. It has nothing to do with education in schools. Yet you have chosen to try to shove you OPINION down our throats.
OK, if you really want to think outside the box:
What about the state partnering with Santa Fe Southern to run freight and local passenger services up and down the line maybe even partnering with the group restoring the Santa Fe 4-8-4 steam loco in Albuquerque to run steam excursions on the line as well. There’s got to be some arrangement that makes this workable for all.
I live here NM and I agree with what CHARLES A TUREK said . To me " $4 million from the state’s capital outlay fund " will put money down the drain that NM don’t have .
A front range service Albuquerque to Cheyenne would be ideal if this route were to be preserved. But if Kansas balks because of their support of intelligent design ideas, perhaps it is because they recognize that you can’t get something from nothing. If it costs just that state 4 million a year for their share of the overall cost, they better see 4 million in additional revenue because the train is operating, otherwise, it’s like telling the people of the train the towns serve that the state knows it’s better to spend the townsfolk’s money on the train than on things the townspeople know they actually need.
That said, let’s think outside the box on this one. There’s little to no freight service on this line, but regional operators have been quite successful at generating freight traffic where the big operators have given up. Could a regional operator get involved in developing freight traffic on this line that could help pay for the Amtrak train and the infrastructure it needs?
Interesting “Out of the Box” thinking suggested by Mr. Ustach. Maybe marketing/development of “regional” freight rail service could be promising though it isn’t clear how much traffic is, or might be on the Raton sub. The coal mines on the York sub (branch line off of the Raton sub) apparently closed down several years ago(?) and they were the largest on-line shipper (?). Also, I read on the Trains online forum last year that the Santa Fe Southern has shut down?
One other thought: It isn’t just the bill to re-hab the Raton subdivision that is daunting. The old ATSF mainline from La Junta to Dodge City, KS needs substantial infrastructure improvements and the estimated cost for the entire line (Dodge City, KS to Albequerque, NM) is somewhere around $200M. Amtrak says that the states need to pay for this and the states undoubtedly don’t have the money with all of the other fiscal priorities they face. It would seem that if this is indeed a "national’ route (I.E. Chicago-to-Los Angeles), that Amtrak should provide some, if not all of this needed amount (but likely does not want to, cannot do so or will not do so).
There might also be substantial infrastructure investment required should Amtrak decide to re-route the “Southwest Chief” via the southern transcon (via Amarillo, TX to Belen NM). Will there be the money and political will on Amtrak’s part if this happens?
Perhaps the sad reality is that the SW Chief no longer operates in a few years?
Interesting “Out of the Box” thinking suggested by Mr. Ustach. Maybe marketing/development of “regional” freight rail service could be promising though it isn’t clear how much traffic is, or might be on the Raton sub. The coal mines on the York sub (branch line off of the Raton sub) apparently closed down several years ago(?) and they were the largest on-line shipper (?). Also, I read on the Trains online forum last year that the Santa Fe Southern has shut down?
One other thought: It isn’t just the bill to re-hab the Raton subdivision that is daunting. The old ATSF mainline from La Junta to Dodge City, KS needs substantial infrastructure improvements and the estimated cost for the entire line (Dodge City, KS to Albequerque, NM) is somewhere around $200M. Amtrak says that the states need to pay for this and the states undoubtedly don’t have the money with all of the other fiscal priorities they face. It would seem that if this is indeed a "national’ route (I.E. Chicago-to-Los Angeles), that Amtrak should provide some, if not all of this needed amount (but likely does not want to, cannot do so or will not do so).
There might also be substantial infrastructure investment required should Amtrak decide to re-route the “Southwest Chief” via the southern transcon (via Amarillo, TX to Belen NM). Will there be the money and political will on Amtrak’s part if this happens?
Perhaps the sad reality is that the SW Chief no longer operates in a few years?