Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff says he was pleased with yesterdays meeting with officials from BNSF and Amtrak regarding the future of the Southwest Chief, which serves Hutchinson, and cities in Colorado and New Mexico. The meeting, held aboard a special train provided by BNSF, traveled through Kansas and Colorado before turning around at La Junta.

Deardoff says not much has changed regarding BNSF and Amtrak’s request to local and state governments to fund 100-million dollars in upgrades to the seldom used rail line, and another 10 million dollars per year in maintenance costs. Failure to come to an agreement could prompt Amtrak to move the Chief onto BNSF’s “Transcon” line through Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. The reroute would eliminate service to Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City as well as towns in Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

Deardoff said that Hutchinson has a lot less to loose if Amtrak does move the Chief over the to “Transcon” route since riders could drive to Newton to catch the train. Hutchinson has the lowest number of passengers boarding the train each year other than Dodge City, with about 6,000 passenger per year. Newton has the highest at more than 14,000. Deardoff said it would be hard for the city to justify the funding request but didn’t rule it out either.