Amtrak to continue train service in NM

Southwest Chief rail line to continue through Sept. 2019

SANTA FE — Amtrak service through northeast New Mexico has been saved, at least for another year, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Tom Udall.

Udall says that during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday, Amtrak Chief Operating Officer Scot Naparstek committed to running the Southwest Chief rail line “as is” through fiscal year 2019, which runs through September of next year.

Amtrak had been considering a plan to abandon train service for the segment of the Chief’s route between Dodge City, Kan., and Albuquerque and replacing it with bus service.

The Southwest Chief runs daily between Chicago and Los Angeles. In

New Mexico, the Chief makes stops at Raton, Las Vegas, Lamy, Albuquerque and Gallup.

Under the bus route plan, instead of traversing the entire 2,265-mile route by rail, the Chief would be split in two – westbound travelers leaving Chicago would disembark in Dodge City and eastbound travelers from Los Angeles would disembark in Albuquerque.

The passengers would then board charter buses to cover the more than 450-mile trip between the Duke City and Dodge City, before catching another Amtrak to finish their trips.

The train would no longer stop at the Lamy station, the nearest passenger stop to Santa Fe, about 18 miles southeast of town. The train also would no longer pull into the Las Vegas and Raton stations in New Mexico; Trinidad, La Junta and Lamar in Colorado; and Garden City, Kan.

Amtrak told New Mexico’s and other senators in a meeting earlier this year that it was seriously considering the bus service option starting in January.

Udall’s news release today said that he questioned Naparstek at the Commerce Committee meeting about Amtrak’s proposed shift to buses. In response, according to Udall’s news release, Naparstek said, “We plan on running the Southwest Chief as-is through fiscal year 2019.”

Udall says he stressed the importance of consulting with stakeholders to make improvements to the aging rail line. “I reiterate the need for Amtrak to work with the communities impacted to create a real plan for the future of the Southwest Chief,” Udall is quoted in the news release.

At issue is a more than 219-mile stretch of track, most of which runs through Colfax County in New Mexico, that is owned by the BNSF Railway. Amtrak is under the gun to meet rail safety standards by the end of 2018 and has said the “financial investment of the magnitude needed to retain this portion of the route is not prudent.”

Amtrak is the sole user of the BNSF track between Jansen, Colo., near Trinidad, and the junction with the Rail Runner Express commuter train’s track south of Santa Fe and is entirely responsible for capital and maintenance costs for that stretch of track. But Amtrak isn’t willing to pay for all of what it estimates to be between $30 million and $50 million of future expenses to keep the rail line up-to-date and serviceable. It has suggested that Colfax County and BNSF pitch in and is threatening to withhold its share of a matching grant if they don’t.