John,

Fantastic picture! NM has not closed on the line. They deferred it due to their budget crunch. Unless things turn around quickly, they may lose the political will to buy it. From what I hear, RailRunner is creating enough controversy on operating subsidies, and I don't see anyway the Raton line could be self-sustaining. So while the purchase price is cheap - something like $5 million, the on-going expense of maintaining the line would just be a potential black hole. And unfortunately the Feds are giving money away for capital projects such as buying the line, but not operating funding. As it stands now the line goes nowhere (Trinidad, CO), with no easy way to get on toward Denver. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I would hate to see the line disappear.