Raton, NM BNSF/Southwest Chief politics (# 1130)

The point in this picture is the contrast between the Amtrak Southwest Chief track on the right, and the overgrown tracks to the left. The Southwest Chief has provided transportation for many small towns from Chicago to LA via the southwestern route through New Mexico. The line that the train followed is owned by BNSF and was once a busy freight route, but BNSF consolidated their freight operations onto another route resulting in the only train along this route being the Southwest Chief. In (I believe) 2012, BNSF threatened to close the route, which would have forced the Southwest Chief to use a more southerly route and would have ended service for many parts of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. Fortunately, those three states felt it important to maintain service and managed to scrape together funds for improving the tracks (that are still managed by BNSF). See: www.denverpost.com/2015/11/07/rural-colorado-kansas-and-n-m-have-saved-amtraks-southwest-chief