New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan said Friday the funding for the Southwest Chief route will enable Amtrak to pay matching funding for a grant to pay for maintenance and safety improvements to the Southwest Chief route.
Amtrak officials previously proposed replacing train service with bus service between Dodge City, Kansas, and Albuquerque – about a quarter of the 2,265-mile route providing daily train service between Los Angeles and Chicago.
The New Mexico lawmakers said the funding was also pushed by senators from Colorado and Kansas.