Southwest Chief Track Conditions

[printman2000]

My family and I drove up to Dodge City earlier this week on Spring Break. Parked at the Amtrak station, I found this...

The next day we drove to La Junta and what do you know, the car was there. The next morning we got up and went to watch the Southwest Chief come through La Junta. Next thing you know, they were backing this car up to the Chief and they hooked it on the end.

I got to talking with one of the guys from the car. He works for the Federal Railroad Administration inspecting track. Sure enough, they were in the process of inspecting the track for the Southwest Chief. I asked him how things were from Dodge City to La Junta. He said they had found four areas that required repairs or even slower speeds. He also said the whole area had poor track conditions for ride quality. Not safety issues, but he said a lot of people could spill their coffee on the train.

I also told him I had heard that there was a good chance the train would be rerouted through Amarillo. He talked like it was going to happen and said he heard it will be next year.

That is all I remember right now. It was all totally unexpected and I could not believe I happened to be there when this car was passing through.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Thats pretty neat. I've never seen one of those attached to an Amtrak train at least.

 

[Railroad Bill]

It is beginning to sound more and more like we better take a last ride through the Raton Pass in the next year or so. Will miss that route but would also like to see some new territory in Texas and New Mexico. We shall see

 

[June the Coach Rider]

I wish they would do this for the TE tracks, there are several areas north of Texas that need checking, spilling coffee and everything else at some points. I have a trip on SWC set for September, hopefully that is soon enough to get to see the Raton Pass. I have never riden the SWC and cannot wait. For western LD trains, the only two I have not riden are the EB and SWC, but have both scheduled for later this year. Then I can start on the eastern trains.

 

[Trogdor]

If I recall, the go/no-go decision has to be made next year, but the actual reroute (if that's what's decided) won't happen until 2016.

 

[SarahZ]

I'm glad I got to see the Raton Pass several times, and I'll miss it, but I'm also excited to see new/different scenery in OK and TX. I've never been to either state.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Gotta remember to do Raton and quick.

No money for repairs when you've got a $2,000,000,000,000.00 oil battle to pay off.

 

[njulian]

So if they do dump Raton where does that leave ABQ? What other re-routes will this cause?

 

[printman2000]

So if they do dump Raton where does that leave ABQ? What other re-routes will this cause?

From what I have heard, Albuquerque will still be served. It will require a backup move to or from the wye that is South of the station.

 

[MikefromCrete]

So if they do dump Raton where does that leave ABQ? What other re-routes will this cause?

From what I have heard, Albuquerque will still be served. It will require a backup move to or from the wye that is South of the station.

There's been a lot of speculation on this. The SWC might take a 30 mile or so detour to Albuquerque turn on a wye and then return to he main route, or there might be an Ambus connection from Belen. Nothing's written in stone yet, not even the reroute via Amarillo, although that looks pretty likely, since Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico are reluctant to pony up any money for track rehab and maintenance.

 

[JayPea]

I'm glad I got to see the Raton Pass several times, and I'll miss it, but I'm also excited to see new/different scenery in OK and TX. I've never been to either state.

I'm glad I got to do Raton Pass a couple of times also. I'm also looking forward, if it does indeed happen, to seeing new territory also. Oklahoma is the only state of the Lower 48 west of the Mississippi RIver I've never been to. Never been to Alaska nor Hawaii either, but those are on my to-do list after July 2015 (I do believe in planning ahead! ) when I get a fourth week of vacation at work added to the benefits.

 

[Amtrak George]

If my memory serves me correctly, when the S W Chief has been rerouted via Amarillo, it was still able to serve Albuquerque. I feel this is what Amtrak and BNSF will agree to continue doing. That is a big market.

 

[Notelvis]

If I recall, the go/no-go decision has to be made next year, but the actual reroute (if that's what's decided) won't happen until 2016.

That's what has been announced officially BUT I wouldn't accept that as the gospel.

Amtrak and BNSF could always reach an agreement on a permanent reroute and do it sooner. Or, worse, there could be a washout or rockslide on the Raton Pass rendering that route impassable at any time. With only the SWC left on Raton Pass, it is unlikely that anyone would want to spend the money to reopen a line that is already on borrowed time. Within a matter of hours or days the SWC is detoured via Amarillo and the next thing you know the detour becomes permanent.

While I would love the circumstances to be different and the SWC to remain on it's current route forever, I would not be surprised to see it rerouted by the spring schedule change in 2015 if not sooner.

 

[Trogdor]

Part of the reason for a longer timeline was to get station facilities ready on the new route. Given how long it took for (for example) Hope, AR, to get built (not to mention the amount of time it took just to get the already-built platform slightly modified to get within compliance), it may take a while for those new communities to get their stations ready.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'm glad I got to see the Raton Pass several times, and I'll miss it, but I'm also excited to see new/different sc enery in OK and TX. I've never been to either state.

Unfortunately for those of you that havent been on the Trans-Con Route through Oklahoma and Amarillo, it's the "Is That All There Is?" Capitol of North America when it comes to Scenery! Makes the Sunset ithru West Texas seem like the Starlight or Zephyr thru the Sierras and Colorado in Comparison!!

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I'm all in favor of smoother tracks, especially if it's a real safety concern, but "people might spill coffee" seems like a silly reason to reroute. If that were the case, the possibility of turbulence would cancel every flight everywhere.

 

[printman2000]

Sorry, but nowhere has anyone said the reroute will happen because of spilled coffee. The reroute will happen because the track is getting worse and worse and no one will pay to fix it.

 

[gn2276]

When the reroute happens Albuquerque would be closed have not heard where they would move the crewbase.

 

[SarahZ]

When the reroute happens Albuquerque would be closed have not heard where they would move the crewbase.

Source?

I seriously doubt they would close Albuquerque. It has a large passenger base, and it would be necessary to assist people with the Santa Fe connection (whether by Ambus or the Rail Runner), as Lamy would be closed.

 

[Ryan]

I think maybe what he was trying to say was that the crew base would be moved, but that the station would remain open? I agree, the chances of losing ABQ as a passenger stop are slim to none.

 

[Notelvis]

I would hope that the train would continue to run in and out of Albuquerque using the wye south of the station to turn.

However, connecting to the New Mexico Railrunner likely won't make much impact on the final decision. The SWC would go through Belen on the new route whether it goes into Albuquerque or not....... and the Railrunner goes as far south as Belen.

 

[railiner]

So if they do dump Raton where does that leave ABQ? What other re-routes will this cause?

From what I have heard, Albuquerque will still be served. It will require a backup move to or from the wye that is South of the station.

Maybe yes. Or, maybe no. Just ask the folks in the larger-than-Albuquerue, Phoenix.......

Belen=Maricopa? or maybe "Maricopa", but with an Ambus to/from Abuqueque?..........

 

[Amtrak George]

Does anyone have a reliable source that says Amtrak will abandon Albuqurque? I have not seen one, and Amtrak's official statement issued 4-12-12 indicates they will have to find a different route between Newton, Kansas and Albuquerque by early 2016 unless decisions and financial commitments occur by the end of 2014. I'm paraphrasing that release, which is on Amtrak's website. The news items I have seen since then are consistent with this.

 

[Nathanael]

The Southwest Chief will continue going to Albuquerque. With the tracks from Belen to ABQ owned by RailRunner, the tracks are not currently at risk (unlike Phoenix). Even *with* the "backtracking" and wyeing around Albuquerque, the time along the Transcon route is less than the time along the current route, so it won't be seen as "too long a detour". It's cheaper to keep using the Albuquerque station than it is to build a new platform *and* crew reporting point *and* servicing and fuelling point at Belen. BNSF doesn't want the train blocking the mainline at Belen. This is all apart from the fact that Albuquerque is one of the highest-ridership stations on the route. The costs of recommissioning the wye and paying track usage fees to NMDOT are really low compared to the costs of *not* serving ABQ. No news report from Amtrak, BNSF, NMDOT, or anyone else in the know has ever suggested that Amtrak would stop serving ABQ.

Perhaps we can put a nail in the coffin of this particular rumor.

More interesting is the question of what will happen to Santa Fe service. Will the schedule allow for the RailRunner to provide "Thruway Bus" service to Santa Fe, or will Amtrak lay on buses, or will passengers simply be on their own? All of these are possibilities.

 

[Nathanael]

I also told him I had heard that there was a good chance the train would be rerouted through Amarillo. He talked like it was going to happen and said he heard it will be next year.

Amtrak has been saying that a decision must be made next year on whether to reroute, but that the reroute itself wouldn't happen until 2016. Like everyone else, I agree that this could happen faster if something unexpected caused extra damage to the Raton Pass tracks. Amtrak would presumably like to have stations in Wichita and Amarillo, at least, but I could imagine the train running non-stop from Newton to Albuquerque for months or even year if folks in Wichita and Amarillo don't get their act together.