Isn't the decision on the reroute allegedly supposed to happen this month? :unsure:
I thought the decision was supposed to happen December 2014.
The quick and dirty of the reroute is that BNSF is abandoning the Raton pass route; there isn't any local traffic and because of higher grades, they're consolidating all of its through traffic onto the Southern Transcon. The only trains that will be running on it will be Amtrak. As a result, BNSF is requiring that if Amtrak wishes to continue operating over that line, they, or any sponsoring government entities, will be solely responsible for maintenance on that line (as they are the sole users). There is approximately $100 million in needed repairs and I believe about ten million per year in annual maintenance required to maintain speeds higher than 40mph. BNSF has offered, at no additional cost, to host the Southwest Chief on the Southern Transcon instead. For whatever reason there has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over this reroute.
This is all correct. A few additional points:- The Southern Transcon (through Amarillo) is just as fast as the current route; possibly faster.
- The Southern Transcon would allow for station stops in Amarillo and in Wichita downtown; there is therefore more potential ridership on the Southern Transcon route.
- The rerouted train, coming from the east, would still stop at Newton, Kansas, and would then go to Wichita, to Amarillo, and finally to Albquerque, where it would resume the existing route.
- The stations which would lose service are mostly tiny towns with really low ridership, except for Lamy (used only for connecting service to Santa Fe), and Raton (used mostly to get to the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch).
- Connecting service to Santa Fe is now available from Albuquerque (via RailRunner) anyway.
- Obviously, the cities which would be bypassed are upset, as are the legislators from the bypassed districts, but they don't seem to have much influence in any of the three state legislatures.
- BNSF's current contract with Amtrak expires sometime in 2016. The current contract allows Amtrak to run across Raton Pass at the current cost -- but BNSF will demand the financial changes mentioned above in any contract made after 2016. Therefore, the reroute will happen in 2016.
- Amtrak has stated that it needs some lead time to prepare for the reroute (presumably in order to get stations built in Amarillo and Wichita, set up new crew change points, hire people, etc.) and therefore Amtrak told the states that if it doesn't get funding committed by the end of 2014, it will commit to the reroute.
- Amtrak took officials from all three states on a tour of the current route, and after that all three state governments declined to pay any money to keep the train on its current route.
- Amarillo city just bought the old train station in anticipation of the potential reroute.
- Wichita has been trying to get funding for a Heartland Flyer extension northerly through Wichita to Kansas City, so its city government will probably be gung-ho about getting Southwest Chief service.
- The developer who owns Wichita Union Station is also supportive of passenger train service to the station.
Things look quite optimistic for the reroute, as far as I am concerned. I'm looking forward to the reroute and I think it will improve ridership, revenue, and costs for the Southwest Chief.
But as Paulus says, there has been much upset about it from others -- understandable from the people living in cities which will be bypassed, of course.