AMTRAK’S SOUTHWEST CHIEF KEEPS ROLLING ON NEW TRACKS
Small towns feared they would lose their ‘ lifeline’ route, but states bonded to save leisurely travel mode
Amtrak’s Southwest Chief train is rumbling through the pre- dawn darkness just east of the Colorado border when a pickup pulls into view on U. S. Highway 50, which parallels the tracks.
The truck slowly catches up to the train, then passes it, taillights disappearing toward the Rockies. We’ll never catch up because our 268,000- pound locomotive isn’t allowed to go that fast. “We’re just moseying along,” conductor Marcelino Martinez says.
Welcome to cross- country train travel, circa 2015.
On the plains of Kansas, one of the country’s premier train routes is limited to no more than 79 mph. Much of the time, the train runs far slower on the scenic eight- state route tracing portions of the pioneer Santa Fe Trail from Chicago to Los Angeles.
The tracks have deteriorated to the point where federal officials limited the train’s speed across Kansas, Colorado and NewMexico, in some cases to 30 or 40 mph, lengthening the trip by two hours.
For rail enthusiasts, things could be much worse. In 2012, the tracks’ owner, BNSF Railway, told Amtrak it needed to come up with $ 100 million to upgrade the tracks if it wanted to keep using the rails. Amtrak, a federal agency that runs the U. S. rail system, didn’t have that kind of money.
Unlike Europe or Asia, where rail systems are highly subsidized by national governments, America’s railroad system remains largely private and almost entirely focused on freight. Passenger rail is generally a money- loser because people prefer to travel by car or airplane. That’s created a vicious cycle in the West: Amtrak’s federally funded service isn’t as convenient, which means fewer people take it, leaving the agency with less money to maintain its system, forcing it to consolidate routes and cut service, whichmakes it less attractive.
Most of Amtrak’s success comes on the heavily populated East Coast, where 10 cities are responsible for two- thirds of all ridership on short commuter routes. In the West, trains are emptier and cover vast distances between tiny towns.
Many Western leaders worry Amtrak will cancel even more service, in some cases further isolating small towns that depend heavily on access to the train and the tourist dollars it can bring.
“It’s a lifeline out of our community but also coming into our community,” says Roger Stagner, mayor of Lamar, Colo., pop. 7,700. “A lot of people who come to visit, end up coming back.”