By Billy Donati
KRTN
The Raton Patrol Yard offices of NMDOT were the sight of the NM State Transportation Commission meeting on July 19, 2018.
Chairman Ron Schmeits chaired the meeting which saw a full house crowd in one of the maintenance bays that was transformed into a meeting room. After reports from various departments, the Commission heard public comment from several individuals including Richard Cordova, Mayor of Eagle Nest, who thanked NMDOT for its hard work during the recent Ute Park Fire.
Colfax County Manager, Mary Lou Kern; Raton Mayor Pro Tem, Linde’ Shuster; Shelley O’Neill from Philmont Scout Ranch; and Colfax County Commissioner Bill Sauble all spoke in support of the Amtrak SW Chief.
O’Neill said of the 22,000 scouts through the facility every year, some 9,000 use the train and it would make sense for Amtrak to cater to these young riders in order to assure future riders for Amtrak.
Shortly thereafter, Cabinet Secretary Tom Church gave his report and most of it focused on the Amtrak SW Chief situation. Church said they did meet with Amtrak and noted that, although it was really not a NMDOT issue, it was between BNSF and Amtrak. He did say they were going to try and keep everyone involved and, “do everything we can to keep it going.”
Church also said that the states of AZ and CA just recently became aware of the situation and are also now involved in the process.
Sauble shared information that Amtrak has agreed to meet with Colfax County on August 21. The exact time and location of the meeting has yet to be determined and even though it is probably going to be a closed door session meeting, the public is being urged to show up to support the SW Chief.
Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson, the former chief of Delta Airlines, has already warned lawmakers in Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico that he doesn’t support spending an additional $3 million to refurbish and replace rails on track that run across southern Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico.
That $3 million had previously been agreed to by Amtrak in 2017 as part of the three-state partnership that also includes BNSF Railway, which owns the rail line.
At a meeting with Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico senators on June 19, Anderson suggested one cost-cutting option would be to replace the train service from Dodge City, Kan., to Lamy, N.M., with dedicated bus service.
Amtrak said the federally chartered railroad is closing ticket offices at 18 locations around the country, not just along the Southwest Chief line.
“Nine out of 10 Amtrak tickets are bought through some other source than a station agent,” the spokesman said.
Amtrak is a state-owned-enterprise; it receives federal appropriations to provide a public service, and it is obligated to include states, Amtrak-served communities, and other stakeholder groups in decisions regarding significant changes to service. According to Jim Mathews, President and CEO of the Rail Passenger Association, members of Congress and The Rail Passengers Association are asking the full Congress to direct Amtrak to pursue positive initiatives to maintain daily service on the Chief’s current route. ‘We must take an active and positive leadership role in coordinating the multi-state and community actions required to develop solutions needed to keep the Chief operational for years to come,” said Mathews.
Cast members of the local youth production of The Pirates of Penzance were at the NM State Transportation Commission Meeting to show their support for the SouthWest Chief.
I’d like to comment on this “issue”. The Southwest Chief Route (formerly the Superchief Route) is an American icon which needs to be (and will be) preserved. Generations of “scouts” travel here annually by train to attend Philmont Scout Ranch. It’s an experience they NEVER forget.
Mr. Richard Anderson (current C.E.O. and president of Amtrak) doesn’t seem to understand or care about the importance of the Southwest Chief’s presence here. His only interest seems to be about “money” to improve his high dollar routes in the N.E. corridor and in California. What about the rest of us? Amtrak was created to provide a national passenger rail service for ALL Americans, NOT just for those in affluent communities.
Mr. Richard Anderson came to Amtrak after a stint at Delta Airlines. Delta Airlines became known as “Don’t Ever Leave The Airport”. Is the Southwest Chief headed for a designation of “Ain’t Making That Ridiculous Adventure Knowingly”.
In this entire country, there’s about 326 million of us. We are represented by 1 president and 1 vice president. Amtrak has about 20,000 employees. So why do they need 1 president and 8 vice presidents? What’s wrong with this picture? Have one competent president and vice president, and every passenger rail station in America could be staffed and improvements to the infrastructure could be made as well.