Amtrak Will Keep New Mexico Route For Southwest Chief

Amtrak will stay on track with the existing New Mexico route for the Los Angeles-to-Chicago Southwest Chief, according to a report in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
As early spring softens into the tourist season, one of New Mexico’s prized connections to the Midwest and Pacific Coast appears safe at last.
Amtrak will stay on track with the existing New Mexico route for the Los Angeles-to-Chicago Southwest Chief. Pictured here is an Amtrak train in Chicago, which is the final eastern destination of the Southwest Chief route.
Amtrak will continue to make stops in the New Mexico towns of Raton, Las Vegas, Lamy and Albuquerque, the company announced, ending more than two years of uncertainty in Northern New Mexico’s smaller communities about whether Amtrak would alter the route.
Amtrak has pressured New Mexico to invest in track improvements so the train can travel through the state at maximum speeds. Gov. Susana Martinez in 2014 authorized $150,000 for a study of the Southwest Chief’s costs and benefits.
Despite the lack of upgraded tracks in New Mexico, a Jan. 1, 2016, deadline for funding track improvements has been lifted, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
“We are making progress. There is no imminent cutoff date. … We do not want to move this train to another route,” he said.
By: Mike English (Albuquerque Business First)
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