Bush Budget Would Cut N.M. Amtrak Service

Associated Press

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

The Bush administration's budget proposal for 2007 would end passenger service in New Mexico, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman said.

The president's cuts in the Amtrak budget would eliminate both New Mexico rail routes — The Southwest Chief that serves Raton, Las Vegas, Lamy, Albuquerque and Gallup, and the Sunset Limited that serves Deming and Lordsburg, said Bingaman, D-N.M.

The proposal gives Amtrak $900 million to "enable Amtrak's new management team to keep the trains running and act on its mandate to reshape the company,'' the administration said. In the 2006 budget, Bush offered no subsidy for the railroad, but Congress granted Amtrak $1.3 billion.

New Mexico officials, who are proposing a state commuter rail service in central New Mexico, want to get a small amount of revenue from Amtrak for track maintenance after a deal to purchase railroad tracks from Burlington Northern Santa Fe is finalized this spring.

Chris Blewitt, the project manager for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said the federal funding for Amtrak shouldn't affect the operations budget for the state program.

Cuts to Amtrak are a yearly threat, Blewitt said.

"I would be really surprised if Amtrak stopped serving New Mexico,'' Blewitt said.

Bingaman said Amtrak links many of New Mexico's rural communities to the rest of the country.

"Loss of service would dramatically impact their ability to attract new businesses and new jobs,'' he said. "I hope we can once again turn back the Bush administration's proposal to gut Amtrak and provide the funding Amtrak needs to maintain all its New Mexico lines.''

In its 34-year history, Amtrak has never turned a profit. It has debt of more than $3.5 billion and its operating loss for 2005 topped $550 million. A report last year by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' auditing arm, said the railroad needs to improve how it monitors performance and oversees its finances to reach firm financial footing.