for maintaining the trackage. Therefore, Amtrak has gone to the communities along the current route and asked them to kick in the money needed to pay for the upkeep. The governor of Colorado says his state is on board, the governor of Kansas says he’s okay with it, provided only that the other two states agree to pay their shares, as well. That gets us back to New Mexico’s Susana Martinez.
Dreams and Reality — 1 We have been keeping an eye on the private high-speed rail venture in Texas. The plan is “all of a sudden . . . moving fast,” according to Mike Norman of the Fort Worth Star- Telegram. Further, he writes, Texas Central Railway a Texas company “working with” JR Central, a Japanese firm (makes sense; they have the expertise) wants to start construc- tion in 2017 or 2018 and be up and running by 2021. The idea is to invest $10 billion for 200 m.p.h. service between Houston and Fort Worth. There are a few alternative pre- cise short parts of route to be decided, and as Norman writes: “As with all big projects in Texas, big money and big profit potential are at stake.” At that rate, Texas may beat the troubled California plan to the goal of “true” high speed rail in the U.S.
Dreams and Realities — 2 On the other hand, another ambitious plan was revised. This would be the X-Train, the luxury service operation which would move passengers from Southern California to Las Vegas in its own trains on a regular sched- ule. That plan has been scratched. Instead, X-Train will operate as a charter service for private parties.
Off the Main Line
One of the many success stories generated by the shale oil energy boom is the South Orient Rail Line, a 376-mile operation be- tween Presidio, Texas, on the Mexican bor- der to San Angelo and on to Fort Stockton, Texas. South Orient Rail interchanges with Union Pacific at Alpine, Texas; with BNSF and the Fort Worth & Western at San Angelo Junction (San Angelo, Texas). South Orient’s parent company, Texas Pa- cific Railway, is owned by Grupo Mexico, Mexico’s largest railroad operator, based in Mexico City, with operations on both sides of the border. The company has been operating on the South Orient since 2001 through an arrangement with the state of Texas. Texas Pacifico ships sand, crude oil and other com- modities.
Elizabeth Grindstaff, a VP with the com-
pany, says the operation of South Orient is unique because the tracks and land under the tracks belong to the state of Texas. As she explains to the San Angelo Standard- Times, the company has a 40-year lease from the state, with five ten-year options. “When we leave, we won’t take the asset
with us. So we are investing our funds and our revenues into an asset we don’t control. The state of Texas therefore is in a sense a partner with us,” Grindstaff adds. The cur- rent oil boom obviously has boosted the for- tunes, including heavy maintenance. “We have some track that dates back to 1903. We’re replacing that, and we’re replacing railroad ties and spikes constantly.”
Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.
www.chamasteam.com
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