May 2012

Background:

As you may have heard, the present alignment of the SW Chief is not assured beyond the next couple of years. At risk is the segment that runs from Newton, KS to Lamy, NM (636 track miles). The BNSF Railway, which owns these tracks, does not need to operate on this route (when they do at all) faster than 45 mph. This means they don’t have to keep the tracks up to the 80+ mph standard desired by Amtrak for passenger trains.  Which in turn means that the SW Chief is slowly getting slower and slower.

Somebody needs to come up with about $ 100 million to restore the track to 80 mph  (“Class 4”)standards and a few more million a year to keep them that way. I say a few more because rails last a lot longer and require much less repair than do roads and highways.

Since this track segment is presently used for very little besides two SW Chief  trains a day, a lot of sensible people (and their political leaders) might reasonably wonder, why the hell spend this kind of money just to keep two trains a day running —- especially since an alternate route through Wichita, Northwest Oklahoma, Amarillo, Eastern NM and Belen will be available for rerouting the Chief should the need arise.

Besides the fact that the Chief is an all-important transportation resource to the three states in question, Rails Inc feels that those tracks are a very attractive resource for anybody — private or public —  who owns and is willing to upgrade them and who can imagine more than a couple of years (or an election cycle) into the future.

Here’s what we mean:

(Adapted From the Rail Users’ Network National Newsletter, Spring 2012):

Several cities and towns along the (Newton KS-Lamy NM) route have passed and are passing resolutions supporting their desire to keep the Chief running where it is, citing the many benefits the train confers on their communities. A New Mexico branch of the SW Chief Coalition (based in La Junta CO) is putting itself together. The purchase by the State of New Mexico from the BNSF of the Raton Pass-Lamy track segment is still in limbo, where it has resided since the Martinez administration took over.

While we don’t believe the tracks are in danger of being torn up and scrapped (although this is a possibility), Rails Inc feels that to save the Chief we need to save the tracks, and to save the tracks we need to demonstrate what a great asset they are. So “with a little help from our friends”, we’ve compiled a list of uses for these tracks — beyond the important function of hosting two Amtrak trains a day.

Those two daily SW Chief trains by themselves justify the existence and improvement these tracks are in need of, but they certainly don’t constitute full and efficient use of the route. We think it will be hard to secure the future of this route without convincing potential funders and owners—private or public—that these tracks could (and should) be busy more or less full-time.

So What Are Those Tracks Good For? 

1)   Hosting the SW Chief, of course.

2)   Hosting future Amtrak Superliner (or similar) service from El Paso to Denver and points North, via Albuquerque, Raton and Pueblo (see our “Rocky Mountain Flyer” material at www.nmrails.org or Rail magazine, #25).

3)   Establishment or expansion of commuter and regional Rail in the three affected states.

4)   Restoration of rail freight and express. The costs of fuel, tires and asphalt are not dropping.  Private haulers, short lines and entrepreneurs might find this an acceptable risk if they don’t have to buy and own the tracks.  Truckers don’t have to own the roads they run on.

5)   Excursion trains, both modern and vintage.  Besides their educational and cultural value, they can make pretty good money.

6)   Hosting the field testing of new Rail safety components and other Rail products.

7)   Hosting BNSF trains again, if anything happens to the Transcon.

8)   Not to forget:  Promoting the increased economic development, core-city renewal and tourism (with their considerable employment and tax revenues) that improved Rail transportation always pulls in.

It has also been suggested to us that advocates should compile a list of potential users of these tracks (towns, cities, schools, ranches, tourist attractions, transportation companies, excursion trains, etc) and ask them how permanent and reliable access to said tracks might improve or expand their operations. From this, revenue estimates might be put together to increase the attractiveness of the segment to either private or public potential ownership.

In the short haul, like seeds and range land, we need to “bank” these tracks till we can put them to the full use they deserve. If we’re short-sighted enough to let them go, it’ll be like the late 40’s all over again.  Conventional, High Speed or Mag Lev, the future of this right of way should always be Rail.

The Albuquerque Journal published an op ed on December 26, by our JW, related to the redevelopment of the Rail Yards and the role of Rail transit in this process. In said article we propose a modern Rail shuttle between the Alvarado Center (First and Central) and the old Blacksmith Building in the Yards. We’re calling it the “Yard Bird”. The Blacksmith shop looks like a future Union Station if we ever saw one.

The sets of tracks leading North toward Downtown from this building and the rest of the Rail Yard have deteriorated and several rails are missing, but they are still more or less there. One old diagonal used to connect several spurs Northbound from the Rail Yard to a point near First Street and the Coal Ave bridge. This looks like a promising route, but we’ve got much more to learn.

Consult The Albuquerque Rail Yards.

Besides our little Bird, there’s another modern Rail possibility for the Yards: City Councilor Benton has recommended putting the Rail Runner maintenance facility in the Yards, making said Yards serve in a small way the function they filled in the old days. Another of the above-mentioned track sets might well serve this purpose. As above, we have a lot to learn about this, and are planning meetings with appropriate experts.

Old Fashioned Civics Lesson: Get active. If you like what we’re trying to do (hell, even if you don’t), contact your friends and various associates and your local and national political leaders. They do pay attention if they hear from enough people for long enough. If you are connected with any of the “social networks”, please spread the word through these. We can compose the messages, or you can. Passenger Rail is a big issue, in part because it fortifies so many others.
If you’re interested in Rail Yard matters, or want to weigh in on Rail transit in connection with this, contact Petra Morris at: pmorris@cabq.gov.

There is a new group forming, concentrating on urban Rail (transit) for Albuquerque. We like the idea of more than one independent outfit working more or less together, like a team of cats. Contact Herschel Wilson at: albuquerquestreetcar@mail.com.

The Southwest Chief And Its Tracks:

We secured a proclamation of support last October from the Albuquerque City Council supporting Amtrak’s Southwest Chief (signed by all nine Councilors). More recently, a “resolution” to this effect passed by the same margin at the City Council (a resolution ranks higher than a proclamation). And on March 12, the Bernalillo County Commission issued a “Certificate Of Recognition” supporting the Chief, complete with a pat on the back for Rails Inc.

Our thanks to Councilor Benton and Commissioner Hart-Stebbins.

For those of you handy with math, this will be easy. For those who are not, it’ll still be easy:

*** Upgrade the tracks from Newton KS to Lamy NM: $100 million (over 10 years)
*** Track maintenance to 80 mph standards, per year: $ 10 million (per year)
*** All costs to be shared by New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Amtrak and the BNSF Railway.

Doing said math, Preserving and upgrading this 636-mile right of way would cost each of the five “stakeholders” approximately $4 million per year. Seen in the multi-billion dollar context of highway and airport investment, this looks like a pretty good deal. It’s an even better deal when you consider all the other potential uses of these tracks.

Consult: https://nmrails.org , the third article under “Hot Topics”.

Late Breaking News (Relatively):

During the last part of February, two pieces of legislation (“memorials”) related to the SW Chief made it through the NM House of Representatives.

One, under the auspices of the New Mexico branch of the SW Chief Coalition (NM-SWCC), is a basic statement of support for the Chief, with many good reasons why. This memorial has passed unanimously in both the NM House and the NM Senate.

The Other, instigated by us, tries to take this several steps further by calling for a study or market research program toward developing revenue uses for the tracks themselves—-uses beyond the important one of hosting the Chief twice a day. We want to see those tracks put to work full-time. We did not expect unanimity, or even an easy passage, but—-we cleared the House Business and Industry Committee 8-3 and the full House 45-22 (including 10 Republicans). We’re happy, but this is just a beginning. We did not have time to work the Senate.

All this good news is of course contingent on the resolution of the long-standing track ownership impasse between the BNSF Railway and the Martinez administration.

Conference Notice:

The Rail Users Network, a smart and honest national passenger Rail group (our JW is a recently-elected board member) is holding a conference in Chicago on April 26-27. If you’re there, or care to be, this might be most interesting. For more information, contact:

http://www.railusers.net OR 1-207-776-4961.

Regional Transportation Planning Meetings

The Mid Region Council Of Governments (MRCOG) is putting together the latest of their Transportation Improvement Plans (TIP). There will be a series of public meetings in connection with this. The good news is that they’ve figured out that transportation goes way beyond cars cars cars, roads roads roads. the other good news is that they’re acting like the Rail Runner is here to stay. The bad news is that they are not looking at any other Rail transit for the region. Just more and better busses.

This is better than nothing, but not enough. For more information and for meeting dates / places;
consult: http://www.mrcog-nm.gov/transportation, or write: tsylvester@mrcog-nm.gov.
Note: If you want to be on our e-mail list instead of our p-mail list, let us know.

Our Traveling Show

We have put together a presentation “to go”, complete with computer slides (Mac). If anybody is putting up a meeting and would like a speaker with illustrative material, we’re available.