Colorado and Kansas moved last year to secure a federal grant and to allocate money for track repairs on their sections of the route. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez in 2014 authorized $150,000 for a study of the Southwest Chief’s costs and benefits. Martinez was less willing than governors in Colorado and Kansas to commit to the project because she said Amtrak historically was the beneficiary of federal subsidies.
But now, even without New Mexico, Amtrak believes all three states have a sound plan in place for upkeep of the tracks. Magliari and New Mexico State Rep. Bobby Gonzales, D-Taos, say the new plan contains no timetable because all the states now have a strategy to cover costs on their part of the route. Tom Church, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, says his agency is devising ways to pay for repairs in New Mexico.
“We are coordinating an effort with the Southwest Chief Coalition for the Northern New Mexico cities and counties to develop a TIGER grant through the federal Transportation Department,” Church’s staff members say.
Garden City, Kan., was the lead applicant for a group of governments that received a TIGER grant last year to help pay for track repairs on sections of track used by the train. Twelve communities in Colorado, four in Kansas, plus Amtrak, BNSF Railway and the Kansas Department of Transportation contributed a total of more than $9 million to secure the $12.5 million federal grant, says Sal Pace, chairman of the Southwest Chief Commission in Colorado.
New Mexico legislators ended their 60-day session this month without allocating any money for repairs. But State Sen. John Arthur Smith, chairman of the State Senate’s Finance Committee, says the $6.23 billion state budget contains money for local economic development projects.
Smith, D-Deming, said $37.5 million designated for economic development programs could give Martinez’s administration the money needed to begin maintenance or help obtain a TIGER grant in collaboration with the other two states.
Church’s staff members say BNSF would have an updated cost estimate for maintaining the line in New Mexico in April.
The next application for a TIGER grant for the Southwest Chief project will include Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico, Pace says. “Time is of the essence because we’re told the grant might not be around next year,” he said.
