T
Tom
Guest
With the Albuquerque-Topeka section of the line in danger, is Amtrak going to reroute that portion of the route? Would the other route be faster or slower?
I've been monitoring on that line. The commuter line will be between Belen and Santa Fe (Lamy). Phase I which covers from Belen to north of ABQ should be up and running in the fall or winter. Rest of it will be like two years from now because the tracks are in the wrong place (outside of Santa Fe) so it requires more studies.bmlock said:I thoght I read something somewhere that the state of New Mexico is trying to help by running a commuter train which would allow them to help take care of the line.
You might want to double check that link gswager. "Page Not Found" showed up for me.gswager said:Here's the NM commuter line.
Clovis to LA via Belen is very busy route which it runs east and west. From Belen to ABQ is minimal traffic which it runs north and south. However, it will be the new "home" for Rail Runner from Belen to ABQ and eventually to Santa Fe.Superliner Diner said:If they did reroute the Chief to that southerly routing being discussed, my fear is that it could spell the end of intercity service to Albuquerque. I am doubtful that Amtrak and BNSF will want a 30-mile backup move twice a day. Amtrak will want to gain back some precious minutes that it may lose by running via a longer, L-shaped route.
You're missing something though SD. Even though the Sunset is gone from Phoenix there is motorcoach service to Phoenix. It's daily service that connects to the SW Chief (I forget where you pick up the train at), which IMHO is a much better option that the Sunset. The Sunset is a UP/CSX train which is chronically late, tri-weekly, and very inferior to the Chief. The Chief provides daily, reliable service via BNSF, and is much more desireable. Now obviously this does you no good if you're going to San Antonio, or NOL, or ORL (under normal circumstances), but it provides a much better gateway to LAX and CHI than the Sunset ever could. I can guarantee you that wouldn't be there if the Sunset was.Superliner Diner said:Look what happened when the Sunset Limited was rerouted to bypass Phoenix. A new station eventually opened in Maricopa, with no connecting motorcoach services between the station and the major city it is supposed to serve. At least Belen, MN will have commuter rail service between there and Albuquerque, which I hope will be scheduled to meet the Southwest Chief at a new station stop there.
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