This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Santa Fe, N.M. • New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas communities face the potential loss of passenger rail service if Amtrak fails to reach a new agreement by 2016 for maintaining and upgrading portions of the Southwest Chief route through those states, the rail operator said Tuesday.
Ray Lang, Amtrak's state government relations chief, proposed to a New Mexico legislative committee that Amtrak split the costs of maintenance and capital improvements for more than 600 miles of track with the states and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which owns the line but uses only a portion of it for hauling freight.
He asked lawmakers to consider a cost-sharing arrangement in which each of the states would spend about $4 million annually for a decade to keep Amtrak's Southwest Chief line on its current route. He suggested that Amtrak and BNSF could cover similar amounts, about $40 million over 10 years, but he acknowledged that BNSF has made no commitment.
"I still think the five-way split is the most management way to go and is the best solution here for the public. We would love to find a way to keep the train on its route," Lang told the Legislature's Transportation Infrastructure Revenue Subcommittee.
Lang said Amtrak had approached transportation officials in each of the states months ago, and they encouraged the rail operator to seek federal money.
Joe Faust, a BNSF spokesman, said the company hasn't received a formal request from Amtrak for a cost-sharing deal but is aware of what has been suggested to the states. He said BNSF has made no decision on whether such an arrangement is feasible.
Amtrak's operating agreement with BNSF expires in January 2016. Lang said BNSF doesn't want to upgrade sections of the track used by its slower-moving freight trains to meet the higher speed requirements for Amtrak's passenger trains. Amtrak can't afford to foot the full cost itself, and it's unlikely Congress will provide the extra money, he said.
The Southwest Chief route travels between Chicago and Los Angeles, but the portion of the route that's jeopardized runs from the central Kansas community of Newton to Albuquerque in New Mexico.
If no track maintenance deal is reached, Lang said, Amtrak will have to consider changing the Southwest Chief to a more southern route using another BNSF line — going through Wichita in Kansas through Amarillo in Texas and then to Belen in New Mexico. It's possible that Amtrak could continue serving Albuquerque, he said, but Raton, Las Vegas and Lamy, which is near Santa Fe, would lose service.
Amtrak would no longer serve Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City in Kansas, and Lamar, La Junta and Trinidad in Colorado if the Southwest Chief route is changed.
"Rerouting trains is very painful, very difficult and very expensive to do. It's our corporate position to try and find a way to stay on this route," Lang said.
Local government officials urged lawmakers to provide needed money to preserve the train's current route.
"The continuation of the passenger train through northern New Mexico is vital to the economic well-being of each of the counties, cities and towns in the region," Colfax County Commissioner Bill Sauble said.
In New Mexico, there's an estimated $29 million annual economic impact from spending related to train passengers, according to a study prepared by a Texas consulting firm for train supporters. That includes indirect spending and jobs at area businesses, such as restaurants and other shops.
About 129,000 passengers boarded or got off the Southwest Chief in New Mexico in 2012.
Senate Majority Whip Tim Keller, an Albuquerque Democrat, said there's a positive economic return for New Mexico to preserve the current rail route.
"To me, I think this is actually a relatively straightforward situation where the state should lead the way and put in the funds required," Keller said.
The Legislature convenes in January and he suggested that New Mexico make funding contingent on the other states, Amtrak and BNSF providing a share of financing.