Amtrak releases ‘Southwest Chief’ Pueblo extension report NEWSWIRE

PUEBLO, Colo. — An Amtrak revenue and ridership study requested by the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Southwest Chief Rail Line Economic Development, Rural Tourism, and Infrastructure Repair and Maintenance Commission Fund projects that the Chicago-Los Angeles Chief would annually gain at least 14,000 additional passengers and over $1.445 million in revenue if through cars to and from Chicago were switched onto a stub train operating between La Junta, Colo., and Pueblo Union Station.

The brief letter from Mike Franke, Senior Director of Amtrak’s State Government Contracts, notes that increasing existing track speeds to 79-mph would make the 64-mile journey 21 minutes faster, adding 700 more passengers and $38,000 of revenue compared with leaving speeds unchanged. Prior to Amtrak, the last Santa Fe passenger trains to and from Denver traversed the La Junta-Pueblo segment in one hour and ten minutes.

Separate estimates for coach and sleeping car passengers are based on Amtrak modeling which assumes patronage for a one-seat ride, as opposed to having travelers transfer to a different train.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says, “We are encouraged by the projections presented to the Southwest Chief Commission…and will continue to work with (Chairman Sal) Pace in Pueblo, the other commissioners, and all parties along the route who are interested in expanding the Amtrak network.”

However, the study makes no attempt at this time to quantify operating, switching, labor, or infrastructure costs or suggest what ridership and revenue might accrue from an additional round-trip that would connect Pueblo passengers with western Chief-served population centers such as Albuquerque and Los Angeles.

Commission Fund member Rick Klein, the city manager of La Junta, tells Trains New Wire, “We are asking Amtrak to get cost estimates from BNSF Railway and Union Pacific by the end of July. We want to move quickly to figure out what investment they will require.” Union Pacific quotes are necessary because that railroad’s tracks are adjacent to—but do not currently serve—the restored Pueblo Union Station.
 
“Through car service will be an important initial building block in our efforts to reroute the train through Pueblo on its regular journey between Chicago and Los Angeles,” Colorado Association of Railroad Passengers president Jim Souby tells Trains News Wire.

“Furthermore,” he adds, “it is a step in realizing Front Range passenger rail in Colorado (because) Colorado Springs is just 40 more miles up the same route, and Denver is just another 65 miles beyond that. But first we have to make this step work.”