Recently, in either the Hutch Paper, or Wichita newspaper; (can't remember exactly where I read it.) There was a story about a BNSF inspection train over the line west of Hutch, and the jist of the article was, as SFBrkmn had stated. T
The discussion seemed to be about the fact that the 'stick rail' on the line was getting in worse shape, and needed 'rehabilitation' and CWR installation figured into that discussion.
BNSF wanted AMTRAK to pony up the $30/40 million to bring up the speed to the AMTRAK speed requirement (79 mph). Apparently, AMTRAK was no in a mood to do that; hence the negotiatons, and a possible routing shift which was a real issue in both camps.
I have no idea where this discussion about who is going to pay to upgrade the line West from Hutchinson,will wind up. Both sides seem recalcitrant on the CWR installation.
Recently BNSF did officialy drop max speed from Hutchinson to Las Animas to 40 frt, 60 psgr with the exception on a 25 miles stretch of welded rail. Word is Amtrk is trying to seek $30 million for massive improvements for the jinted rail on what really has become a "dump". Other than the runtimes being stretched out for trains 3&4 the main issue on the La Junta Sub is now the run through has been busted and now all crews swap at Dodge City just like they did for over 100 yrs until the .long pool was established a decade ago. Traffic patterns have changed and now there are more trains moving the same amount of traffic between Newton-L aJunta. It gets even more nuts in the fact that the mainline jobs are now doing the majority of work enroute west of Dodge in leiu of the local which now is running much, much shorter compared to what it has been. No more 90 plus car pickups at Garden City,making a 150 car train into Dodge.
This is nothing new. Long before the BNSF merger, and quite possibly right from Amtrak's first days in operation, ATSF wanted Amtrak to reroute the SW Chief. Also the "northern" route via Albuquerque, Raton, La Junta, and western Kansas was never a good place to watch freight trains, at least not since the southern "cutoff" via Clovis, Amarillo, and northwest OK was built with the intention of bypassing Raton Pass and hosting all the transcontinental freight. Once that was open, the northern route became primarily a passenger line with only a few local and regional freights in the mix.
SunsetLtdBut is Abo being converted to 2 main tracks?
Yes, it is. It's something like a 3-year project, if I remember correctly from the article in the magazine a year or so ago. They may have slowed it down (but not stopped it) due to the recession.
BNSF still uses the route east of La Junta for some local traffic as well as occasional trains that otherwise would go to Texas straight south out of Colorado. Yes, this line is jointed rail. I rode it several times under the ATSF banner and under Amtrak. It is fast and good for long stretches of 90 MPH. However, BNSF would like to downgrade to 79 MPH standards which means more time. The line via Amarillo is good for only 79 MPH and hosted only the San Francisco Chief during the Santa Fe era, plus occasional re-routes. In many ways it is beneficial to both to keep the SW Chief where it is as it serves communities, including Albuquerque and keeps the Chief away from the congested areas around Abo Canyon. Fred Frailey's article in Trains seems to be on target.
Unless something has changed within the past month, the Garden depot is open from 10p-12m and 6a-9a. Perhaps the agent was on vac and when these positions are vacant, they are no longer filled off xtra bd as has been a pratice at Newton for several yrs. I work in Garden off & on and will be soon bidding back so as to have wknds off for football. In May when I was working there, our supt from Amarillo was in town and one of the topic he brought up was Amtrak. He stated that Amtrak does indeed want to stay on its current route and is not seeking a reroute. All this though is hanging on trk work issues and who just will pay more for future projects on the La Junta Sub. As for the trk itself, it is pretty lousy. Miles & miles of jointed rail. There is a process of replacing the old rail w/ cwr in towns. This has recently been done @ Holcomb just west of Garden. As for train traffic, not much to see. In Garden itself you have the M-F rd swtchr and the shortline Garden City Western. A couple manifest jobs, various grain trains and the 13/14 locals are it. Western KS on the LAJ Sub is by no means a place to be if one is looking for trains on the plains.
Sam1Sawtooth500I heard rumors that BNSF wants to reroute the chief via clovis and is talking to Amtrak about it. Any additional info? I have head a similar rumor. ... Also, in driving between Garden City and Holcomb, as well as Garden City and Dodge City, I noticed that most of the BNSF track is jointed rail as opposed to continuous welded rail. And I did not see a single freight train on the line, although I spent several hours looking for one. This suggests to me at least that the rumor that BNSF wants to downgrade the line has some merit. Presumably it is the desire to downgrade the line that has led BNSF to suggest to Amtrak that it re-route the Southwest Chief.
Sawtooth500I heard rumors that BNSF wants to reroute the chief via clovis and is talking to Amtrak about it. Any additional info?
I have head a similar rumor.
... Also, in driving between Garden City and Holcomb, as well as Garden City and Dodge City, I noticed that most of the BNSF track is jointed rail as opposed to continuous welded rail. And I did not see a single freight train on the line, although I spent several hours looking for one. This suggests to me at least that the rumor that BNSF wants to downgrade the line has some merit. Presumably it is the desire to downgrade the line that has led BNSF to suggest to Amtrak that it re-route the Southwest Chief.
BNSF no longer runs any through freight trains on the Albuquerque line. They sold it from Belen to Lamy to the state of New Mexico and are negotiating to sell it the rest of the way to the Colorado border. I don't know if they run any freight east of Pueblo toward Kansas City.
jclass If the SWC were rerouted, would Belen become its Albuquerque stop?
If the SWC were rerouted, would Belen become its Albuquerque stop?
Presumably so. Essentially this would create another Phoenix in the sense that the major city of the region is not serviced directly. Belen is served by the NM Railrunner, although I don't know if their station is easily accessable from the BNSF mainline (a long backup move involved?).
If Fred Frailey's info is correct, see August TRAINS, Amtrak is committed to the Raton route.
This line is now open as of July 2 after two washouts were repaired. The washouts would seem to be from a 100-200 year frequency storm as they were not in locations where there is a history of such.
Curious.
Might it be routed through Wichita?
Would the schedule end-to-end be shortened?
I was in Garden City Kansas earlier this week. The station in Garden City has a sign on the front door saying that it is is closed, although passengers may buy their tickets on-line or on-board the train. They can also buy them from the reservations center. Also, in driving between Garden City and Holcomb, as well as Garden City and Dodge City, I noticed that most of the BNSF track is jointed rail as opposed to continuous welded rail. And I did not see a single freight train on the line, although I spent several hours looking for one. This suggests to me at least that the rumor that BNSF wants to downgrade the line has some merit. Presumably it is the desire to downgrade the line that has led BNSF to suggest to Amtrak that it re-route the Southwest Chief.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.