Doña Ana rail line relocation studied
Santa Teresa port could see expansion
LAS CRUCES — A largescale study in the works could lead to the eventual relocation of railroad tracks in southern Doña Ana County and the establishment of a new international rail crossing west of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.
Options are being considered in conjunction with a biggerpicture proposal to relocate the rail shipping yards of major railways from downtown El Paso, Texas, to Santa Teresa, The Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
Among the ideas being examined by New Mexico through a contractor are the rerouting of the southern portion of BNSF Railway tracks, which generally run north and south throughout the county.
BNSF Railway spokesman Joe Sloan said the company is in talks with New Mexico officials about improving rail crossings and possibly rerouting tracks. “But we haven’t made any decisions,” he said.
Documents related to the study show at least three routes have been proposed.
Border economic development officials say a feasibility study also is being done by the Mexican state of Chihuahua because coordination would be needed on both sides of the border.
If the new international rail crossing is established west of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, BNSF’s trains would somehow have to reach it, prompting the construction of a new track.
The first phase of the study has wrapped up, and the state of New Mexico has funding for the second phase, likely to get underway in the coming year, said Jerry Pacheco, president and chief executive of the Border Industrial Association, a Santa Teresa industry group.
A new international rail crossing could be a boon to already-burgeoning border trade in the area. “We think the more freight and commercial traffic you push to Santa Teresa, the more warehousing, manufacturing and industrial activity there will be,” Pacheco said.
In 2014, Union Pacific marked the grand opening of a $400 million rail intermodal facility in the Santa Teresa industrial area. While this led to some of that company’s operations being shifted out of El Paso, other functions still are carried out in El Paso.