Colorado’s U.S. senators rail against Amtrak
Another wrench has been thrown into the complicated future of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief line after the passenger rail carrier offered only conditional financial support for securing a crucial federal grant to ensure the historic line keeps rumbling through Colorado and the region.
Colorado’s U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner joined nine other members of Congress in signing on to a letter blasting Amtrak for hedging a $3 million match toward the $16 million grant.
In years past, Amtrak hasn’t made the same requirements for similar grants and the delegation is accusing the carrier of walking back a commitment to keep the Southwest Chief afloat.
“The lack of transparency by Amtrak management about its changing position on the Southwest Chief is troubling, particularly for a government-sponsored enterprise entrusted with an important public transportation mission,” the lawmakers wrote to Amtrak Thursday.
Bennet, a Democrat, and Gardner, a Republican, were joined by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, and a bipartisan and bicameral group of members of Congress from Kansas and New Mexico in signing the document.
The Southwest Chief, which runs through those two states and southeast Colorado, has been kept running thanks to years of efforts by small towns, Amtrak and state officials who have pitched in to raise tens of millions of dollars for badly needed track repairs.
Efforts to save the historic line in recent years have been bolstered by a steady stream of so-called federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grants. But for this year’s grant, Amtrak said it would only provide the match if there was a long-term plan for future track repairs and financial commitments from stakeholders.
At the center of the question is a section of track between the Trinidad area and Albuquerque that is used only by the Southwest Chief. Amtrak is concerned about paying for track upkeep along that stretch in the long-term.
“Amtrak cited declining ridership and declining ontime performance statistics without acknowledging your culpability in causing these declines,” said the letter addressed to Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson. “Your unilateral policy reversal, after years of collaboration, is incredibly fiscally irresponsible.”
The Southwest Chief runs from Chicago to Los Angeles and makes stops in Lamar, La Junta and Trinidad along the way. Several years ago, its future was put at risk because of costly track repairs needed in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico to keep the train line rumbling along.
Advocates, anchored by a group of small towns across the three states, have since been successful in securing money to keep the line alive.
However, the Southwest Chief’s future — and that of all Amtrak’s long-haul routes — has been shaky since President Donald Trump’s election. The Trump administration has been eyeing Amtrak’s cross-country routes for budget cuts and possibly elimination.
Amtrak’s new requirements in the TIGER grant process adds yet another hurdle for keeping the Southwest Chief alive.
“Amtrak requires a comprehensive plan that provides long-term financial commitments from the other stakeholders for the unique operating and capital costs, including positive train control implementation, associated with the Southwest Chief route between Hutchinson, Kan., and Albuquerque,” Amtrak said Thursday in a written statement. “A piecemeal approach to solving this problem that leads to higher operating costs and new capital obligations for Amtrak’s long distance routes isn’t sustainable.”
Amtrak added that it faces “vast needs for fleet, station and infrastructure improvements across the national network. We stand prepared to consider any such plan as we consider alternatives for this portion of the route.”
Sal Pace, a Pueblo County commissioner who has worked to preserve the Southwest Chief, says without Amtrak’s $3 million in matching funds, the TIGER grant money could be in peril.