Negative Effects of Amtrak's Cutbacks are Unveiled

Great American Station Foundation

June 17, 2002

The Great American Station Foundation (GASF) , a Las Vegas, NM-based organization dedicated to the revitalization of railway stations across the country, in cooperation with the Coalition for Passenger Rail (CPR) reveals Amtrak's plans to eliminate services to several New Mexico communities will have severely detrimental effects to local economies and revitalization efforts. The GASF will release the results of a study on the Amtrak cutbacks today in front of the new Alvarado Transportation Center in Downtown Albuquerque.

Based primarily on interviews with leaders from New Mexico's seven Amtrak station communities - Raton, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Gallup, Deming, and Lordsburg - the report discusses the importance of continued Amtrak service to the public transportation, station revitalization efforts and local economies of New Mexico.

The report finds that Amtrak stations are a vital part of a community's identity and image. It notes that the historic roots of each of these "railroad towns" are embodied in their train depot, and that the depot itself is a symbol of the community's dreams for the future. The study contends that train depots connect citizens to their past and their future, and active train service is an important connection for Americans to their past.

The Station Foundation/CPR report indicates that not only will Amtrak's cuts result in a loss of jobs and transportation alternatives for people living in areas where the proposed cuts would take place, but rollbacks would also severely impact local tourist industries and plans for station/depot and community revitalization, such as Phase II of the newly constructed Alvarado Transportation Center where the press conference is to take place. Such effects could result in further-declining economies, as well as putting revitalization efforts temporarily or permanently on hold.

Albuquerque's new Alvarado Transportation Center, for example, has recently opened as the transit hub of a revitalizing downtown. At First and Central Streets, the $13 million, 62,500-square-foot first phase of the complex incorporates much of the architecture of the historic Alvarado Hotel, positioning the facility to serve as an exciting gateway for generations to come. It presently functions as a transfer station for the Albuquerque SunTran bus system. The Alvarado Transportation Center's second phase envisions a joint Greyhound - Amtrak depot immediately adjacent to the city bus facilities, allowing passengers easy transfer between multiple modes.

"Amtrak is one of the components of what the redevelopment of downtown is all about. To remove that component is to pull one of the supports out from under the mix," the study quotes Chris Leinberger, Managing Partner of the Historic District Improvement Company.
In attendance to present the study and offer reaction will be GASF President Hank Dittmar, a nationally-renowned expert on public transportation, Albuquerque City Councilors Eric Griego and Hess Yntema, State Representative Rick Miera, Senate President Pro-Tem Richard Romero, representatives from New Mexico's Congressional delegation, and other state and local elected officials. Representatives from organizations such as the Surface Transportation Policy Project, the Albuquerque Transportation and Visitors Bureau, and the State General Services Department will also be on hand to speak to the study's findings, as well as to make the case for continued and expanded Amtrak service to and within the State of New Mexico.