Bill to Save Southwest Chief

[neroden]

I agree that the idea for a reroute through the Southern Transcon would be a difficult proposition for both BNSF and Amtrak. This is a very crowded line with trains going in both directions. It's hard to put an 80-90 MPH train out there with 60 MPH trains and expect one not to clog up the other.

Not as hard as you might think. It just requires some planning. Remember that the 80-90 mph train *stops for stations*. Add enough stations, spaced out right, and you're down to a 60 mph average.
More problematic are single-track areas and places where the passenger train would have to stop on the "wrong direction" line. I've noticed that new stations in "freight territory" lately have quite consistently been designed with platforms on both tracks, at a minimum. The preferred design appears to keep the passenger platforms entirely off the mainline *and* prevent the passenger trains from going on the "wrong main", with two separate passenger sidings in each direction.

This actually makes sense.

This entire exercise has been entirely about money.

Of course it is.

 

[henryj]

Isn't the SWC on the Transcon west of Albuquerque? I see no diff going east of there. I would think Chicago to KC is just as crowded.

 

[printman2000]

Isn't the SWC on the Transcon west of Albuquerque? I see no diff going east of there. I would think Chicago to KC is just as crowded.

I hear the too crowded transcon argument all the time. I really do not understand it. As you said, the train already runs on the transcon for most of the route. Cannot see why the it would get more crowded between Belen and Witchita.

 

[Eric S]

Perhaps referring to the single-track bottlenecks, not sure. I believe the ones in NM have had a second track added, and I think directional running might be used to bypass the other single-track stretch in KS, but I am not positive on that.

 

[user 1215]

Yes a possibility of a re route is there but amtrak does not even want to touch the southern route they said at a public hearing In Santa Fe NM

Well best of luck, what they say in a public meeting mean nothing. Sorry but if you take it as fact, you will be quite unhappy at the end.

Too many upsides with the reroute. Sure if you provide the funds they take it, but get it in writing on what your paying for, and the time frame of the deal. Nice history of walking away from deals.

nmrxabqfan101: Though I didn't sit in any meetings, I can tell you that what the Richardson Administration said publicly had very little correlation to reality when it came to the NM Railrunner. Also talked with several folks at NMCOG during development of the NM Railrunner who couldn't manage a rooster fight. I had friends who worked for Hertzog who wondered out loud how long their jobs would last.
If you pay attention to recent commuter efforts across the country, many have been designed to make life easier for the politicians. If not for the state government (ie: NM Railrunner, NC Rail services, etc), they cater to the government needs of the county (SunRail). These politicians really do care less about the Proles and will do whatever they can to benefit themselves.

 

[jis]

It would be quite foolish of Amtrak to say publicly at the present time that they are eager to re-route, unless they want to pull the rug out from under the efforts to get funding to retain the current route. OTOH, it would also be foolish of them not to be privately working on contingencies should the states fail to come through.