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He added that Anderson and Amtrak's board "have drawn a line in the sand at the foot of the Raton Pass, believing that they can convince western politicians that providing service on the SWC is ineffective and too costly, making the Southwest Chief as their first major target to cut."

Boardman believes the Southwest Chief route has become a "battleground" for Amtrak's national system, the letter stated.
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Full article here: [www.progressiverailroading.com]

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Evidence points to a covert effort to divide Amtrak’s political constituencies and create distrust and discord. Consider a current effort by Amtrak management to convince opinion leaders and decision makers that providing service via the Southwest Chief passenger train, which makes 31 stops between Chicago and Los Angeles, is somehow too costly.

Confirming this intent to eliminate the service, Amtrak has informed elected officials in Colfax County, N.M., that it will not provide its match for a recently awarded congressional grant intended to sustain operation of the Southwest Chief. This directly undermines a federal grant program that, while Amtrak president, I personally brokered with BNSF CEO Matt Rose to improve the BNSF route used by the Southwest Chief—a joint benefit to freight trains and Amtrak.

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Full article here: [www.railwayage.com]

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The far-reaching transportation bill that state lawmakers have sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper this week includes $2.5 million to get the Southwest Chief and Front Range Rail Commission rolling.

The reorganized commission -- it used to be the Southwest Chief Commission -- is beginning a $70 million undertaking that intends to extend passenger train service from Trinidad north to Pueblo and elsewhere up the Front Range.

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The commission was created as a three-state coalition aimed at saving Amtrak's Southwest Chief passenger train service from Chicago to Los Angeles and its route across southern Kansas, Colorado and northern New Mexico.

Full article: [www.gjsentinel.com]