Jump to content

Southwest Chief

Route map:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Southwest Chief
Southwest Chief in February 2020.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail, higher-speed rail
LocaleMidwestern and Southwestern United States
PredecessorSuper Chief, El Capitan
First serviceMay 19, 1974 (1974-05-19) (as Southwest Limited)
October 28, 1984 (1984-10-28) (as Southwest Chief)
Current operator(s)Amtrak
Annual ridership261,485 (FY24) Increase 3.0%[a][1]
Route
TerminiChicago, Illinois
Los Angeles, California
Stops31
Distance travelled2,265 miles (3,645 km)
Average journey time43 hours
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)3 (westbound)
4 (eastbound)
On-board services
Class(es)Coach Class
Sleeper Service
Disabled accessTrain lower level, all stations
Sleeping arrangements
  • Roomette (2 beds)
  • Bedroom (2 beds)
  • Bedroom Suite (4 beds)
  • Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
  • Family Bedroom (4 beds)
Catering facilitiesDining car, Café
Observation facilitiesSightseer lounge car
Baggage facilitiesOverhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stockGE Genesis
Superliner
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed55 mph (89 km/h) (avg.)
90 mph (145 km/h) (top)
Track owner(s)BNSF
NMRX (between Isleta Pueblo and Lamy)
Route map
Map
0 mi
Chicago
Metra
pre-1996 route
Metra Naperville
28 mi
45 km
Joliet (Union Station)
Mendota
83 mi
134 km
Streator
Princeton
104 mi
167 km
Chillicothe
Galesburg
162 mi
261 km
Galesburg
220 mi
354 km
Fort Madison
298 mi
480 km
La Plata
332 mi
534 km
Marceline
closed 1997
386 mi
621 km
Carrollton
proposed
437 mi
703 km
Kansas City
KC Streetcar
477 mi
768 km
Lawrence
503 mi
810 km
Topeka
549 mi
884 km
Emporia
closed 1997, proposed
638 mi
1027 km
Newton
671 mi
1080 km
Hutchinson
782 mi
1259 km
Dodge City
832 mi
1339 km
Garden City
932 mi
1500 km
Lamar
985 mi
1585 km
La Junta
proposed
thru-cars
Pueblo
1049 mi
1688 km
Colorado Springs
1093 mi
1759 km
1066 mi
1716 km
Trinidad
1089 mi
1753 km
Raton
1200 mi
1931 km
Las Vegas
1265 mi
2036 km
Lamy
1332 mi
2144 km
Albuquerque
1505 mi
2422 km
Gallup
1633 mi
2628 km
Winslow
1691 mi
2721 km
Flagstaff
1721 mi
2770 km
Williams Junction
closed 2018
Seligman[2]
closed 1984
1864 mi
3000 km
Kingman
1931 mi
3108 km
Needles
2100 mi
3380 km
Barstow
2137 mi
3439 km
Victorville
Greyhound Lines
2184 mi
3515 km
San Bernardino Metrolink (California)
pre-1994 route
Metrolink (California) Pomona
2194 mi
3531 km
Riverside Metrolink (California)
Pasadena
2230 mi
3589 km
Fullerton Metrolink (California)
2256 mi
3631 km
Los Angeles Metrolink (California)

Disabled access All stations are accessible

The Southwest Chief (formerly the Southwest Limited and Super Chief) is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 2,265-mile (3,645 km) route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flagstaff mostly on the BNSF's Southern Transcon, but branches off between Albuquerque and Kansas City via the Topeka, La Junta, Raton, and Glorieta Subdivision. Amtrak bills the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the Painted Desert and the Red Cliffs of Sedona, as well as the plains of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado.

During fiscal year 2023, the Southwest Chief carried 253,838 passengers, a 13.5% increase from FY2022.[3] However, this is a 25% decrease from its pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership of 338,180 passengers in FY2019.[4] The route grossed US$43,184,176 in revenue during FY 2016, a 3.8% decrease from FY 2017.[5]

History

[edit]
Super Chief arriving Los Angeles on the last day Santa Fe operated passenger services, April 30, 1971.
Southwest Limited dome car, 1974. Photo by Charles O'Rear.

The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, which was inaugurated in 1936 as the flagship train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. For most of its existence, it was "all-Pullman", carrying sleeping cars only. The Santa Fe merged the Super Chief with its all-coach counterpart, the El Capitan, in 1958. The merged train was known as the Super Chief/El Capitan, but retained the train numbers used by the Super Chief, 17 westbound and 18 eastbound.

Amtrak retained the Super Chief/El Capitan after taking over passenger rail service on May 1, 1971. Initially retained the Super Chief/El Capitan names with Santa Fe's permission.[6]: 123  From June 11 to September 10, 1972, Amtrak operated the Chief, a second Chicago–Los Angeles train along the same route, reviving the name of another notable Chicago–Los Angeles sleeper train operated by the Santa Fe. This was the only occasion on which Amtrak ran a second train to duplicate a long-distance service outside the New York–Florida corridor.[6]: 123–124  Amtrak dropped the El Capitan designation on April 19, 1973,[6]: 125  truncating only the name to Super Chief, and on March 7, 1974, the Santa Fe directed Amtrak to stop using the Super Chief and Texas Chief (another notable service originally operated by Santa Fe and which between Chicago and Emporia, Kansas shared route with the Super Chief/El Capitan. Amtrak also took over that service in 1971, although after complaints filed by Santa Fe, it was renamed Lone Star.) names due to a perceived reduction in the quality of services, after the Amtrak takeover. In October 1980 the Limited began running with the new coaches Superliner I built by Pullman-Standard, being the fourth of Amtrak's western long-distance trains to be equipped with the new coaches (already running with such cars were the San Francisco Zephyr, Desert Wind and Empire Builder). On November 30, 1981, Amtrak replaced the ex-Super Chief "Pleasure Dome" and "Hi-Level" cars on the Southwest Limited with new superliners, completing the replacement of the original old Super Chief cars with the new cars.[6]: 128  The old Hi-Level coaches used on the El Capitan inspired the design for the Superliners.[7] Santa Fe managers, impressed by the design of the new Superliners, permitted Amtrak to restore the name Chief to the train, and Amtrak renamed it the Southwest Chief on October 28, 1984.[8] In September 1993, the Chief was the first of Amtrak's western long-distance trains to receive the new Superliner II sleeping coaches built by Bombardier Transportation.[9]

Two locomotives leading several railcars through the desert
The Southwest Limited with a mix of Superliners and Hi-Level cars in March 1981

In 1979, the Southwest Chief/Limited route between Kansas City and Emporia was shifted in order to maintain service to Topeka and Lawrence, which would otherwise have lost service when the Texas Chief/Lone Star was discontinued. Until the 1979 realignment via Topeka, service operated via the direct route between Kansas City and Emporia, via Olathe, Gardner and Ottawa.

1990s

[edit]

The western portion of the Pasadena Subdivision was converted to the Gold Line in the 1990s, requiring the Southwest Chief to be rerouted to the San Bernardino Subdivision between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Eastbound service was rerouted on November 28, 1993, replacing the stops at Pasadena and Pomona with Fullerton. Westbound service was rerouted on January 15, 1994.[6]: 131 [10] An additional stop at Riverside was added on April 29, 2002.[11]

The old Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) station in Galesburg. Following the merger of Burlington Northern and Santa Fe in 1995, BNSF built a new connector tracks near Cameron, southwest of Galesburg, which caused the Chief to be rerouted to the former Burlington tracks and begin stopping at the Station located on the Burlington line, instead of the Santa Fe Station. As the Chief ceased operation via Joliet, Streator and Chillicothe, the former Santa Fe Station in Galesburg was closed and then demolished.

Prior to 1996, the Southwest Chief operated in Illinois between Chicago and Galesburg via the ATSF's Chillicothe Subdivision, stopping at Joliet, Streator, and Chillicothe. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Santa Fe in 1996, BNSF constructed a connector track at Cameron, Illinois, which allowed freight and passenger trains to transfer between the BN Mendota Subdivision and the Chillicothe Subdivision.[12] The Chief was rerouted on the old Burlington Northern (former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad - CB&Q) through Naperville, Princeton, and Mendota to Galesburg, a route shared with the California Zephyr, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg. Southwest Chief service to Joliet, Streator and Chillicothe was dropped as part of the realignment, although Joliet continues to see Amtrak service from other trains. The Chief realignment through the Cameron Connector to the Mendota Sub tracks caused Amtrak to concentrate all of its Galesburg operations in the present station, and the station building along the former Santa Fe line was closed and later demolished.[13][14]

In January 1994, the Southwest Chief was rerouted between San Bernardino and Los Angeles onto the Santa Fe Third District via Fullerton and Riverside. Previously, it served Pasadena and Pomona via the Santa Fe Pasadena Subdivision, which was closed to all through traffic following damage to a bridge over the eastbound lanes of Interstate 210 in Arcadia during the Northridge Earthquake.

Between 1997 and 1998, Amtrak operated the Southwest Chief in conjunction with the Washington–Chicago Capitol Limited. The two trains used the same Superliner equipment sets and passengers traveling on both trains could remain aboard during the layover in Chicago. Originally announced in 1996, Amtrak planned to call this through service National Chief and assign it its own numbers (15/16), but the name and numbers were never used. Amtrak dropped the practice with its May 1998 timetable.[15][16][17]

2010s

[edit]
Southwest Chief #4 arriving at Trinidad, CO

The Southwest Chief was one of five routes studied for possible performance improvements by Amtrak in FY 2012.[18]

The part of the Southwest Chief's route in western Kansas, southeastern Colorado, and northeastern New Mexico faced uncertainty throughout the 2010s.

In 2010, BNSF said that Amtrak would have to pay for all track maintenance on the portion of the Southwest Chief' route between La Junta and Lamy (Raton and Glorieta Subdivisions), because BNSF does not run any freight trains over this segment.[19] BNSF also said that they would be lowering the track class on the portion of the Southwest Chief's route between Hutchinson and La Junta from Class IV to Class III and decreasing the passenger train speed limit from 79 mph (127 km/h) to 60 mph (97 km/h).

In return, BNSF proposed rerouting the Southwest Chief from the affected sections of track to its Southern Transcon via Wichita, Amarillo, and Clovis—the same route once used by the San Francisco Chief. To avoid a reroute, Amtrak sought help from the affected states—Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.[20] The states eventually contributed money toward rebuilding and rehabilitating the tracks—much of it obtained from federal transportation grants—and the route was not changed.

However, this same part of the Southwest Chief's route was threatened again in 2018 when it became the focal point of a struggle to determine whether to continue Amtrak as a national network or to operate regional stand-alone networks.[21] The issue arose when Amtrak introduced new requirements for the third renewal grant and raised previously undiscussed technical issues.[22] A letter dated May 31, 2018, co-signed by 11 Senators, condemned the action and urged providing the match.[23] In an open letter, former Amtrak President and CEO Joseph H. Boardman said, "The Southwest Chief issue is the battleground whose outcome will determine the fate of American’s national interconnected rail passenger network".[21]

In June 2018, Amtrak announced that it was considering the replacement of rail service along the Kansas portion of the Southwest Chief with Amtrak Thruway buses between Albuquerque and Dodge City, where train service east to Chicago would resume.[24] Senators in the affected area succeeded in offering an amendment to a funding bill. Per a press release from the office of co-sponsor Senator Jerry Moran, "This amendment would provide resources for maintenance and safety improvements along the Southwest Chief route and would compel Amtrak to fulfill its promise of matching funding for the successful TIGER IX discretionary grant ... In addition, this amendment would effectively reverse Amtrak’s decision to substitute rail service with bus service over large segments of the route through FY2019".[25]

2020s

[edit]

In February 2020, USDOT granted $225,000 toward studying a Southwest Chief spur train service that would run to Colorado Springs, Colorado, via Pueblo.[26] This follows prior plans to add service to Pueblo and connect with the proposed Front Range Passenger Rail service between Denver and Pueblo. It would have also run along former Colorado & Southern tracks through Walsenburg, reconnecting with its current alignment at Trinidad.[when?][citation needed]

In May 2022, the Missouri General Assembly approved $1 million of state funds to establish a Southwest Chief infill station in Carrollton, between the Kansas City and La Plata stations. If approved by the governor, the state funds would have to be matched by local agencies.[27][28]

Incidents

[edit]

On October 2, 1979, the Southwest Limited derailed at Lawrence, Kansas. Of the 30 crew and 147 passengers on board, two were killed and 69 were injured. The cause was excessive speed on a curve. Underlying causes included the engineer's unfamiliarity with the route and speed restriction signage having been removed during track repairs.[29]

On August 9, 1997, the eastbound Southwest Chief derailed about 5 miles northeast of Kingman, Arizona, when a bridge whose undergirding had been washed out by a flash flood collapsed under the weight of the train, which was traveling close to 90 mph (145 km/h). While the lead locomotive stayed on the track, the three trailing locomotives, nine passenger cars, and seven baggage and mail cars derailed. All stayed upright. Of the 325 passengers and crew aboard, 154 were injured and none were killed.[30]

On October 16, 1999, the westbound Southwest Chief suffered a minor derailment near Ludlow, California, following the Hector Mine earthquake. All the cars stayed upright and four passengers were injured.[31]

On March 14, 2016, the Southwest Chief derailed 3 miles (4.8 km) from Cimarron, Kansas. Of 14 crew and 128 passengers, 20 were injured. Investigators determined the train derailed after the tracks were knocked out of alignment by a runaway truck from a nearby farm operation that had rolled down a hill and struck the tracks after its owners failed to secure the parking brake.[32][33]

On June 27, 2022, the eastbound Southwest Chief derailed after striking a dump truck at a level crossing near Mendon, Missouri. Of 12 crew and 275 passengers, 3 deaths and 150 injuries have been reported; the driver of the truck also died.[34][35]

Operations

[edit]
Boy Scouts unload their equipment at Raton in 2011.

The Southwest Chief runs up to 90 mph (145 km/h) along a significant portion of its route, made possible by automatic train stop systems originally installed by the Santa Fe Railway. Of Amtrak's long-distance routes, only the Texas Eagle runs faster (with a maximum speed of 100 mph (161 km/h) through much of Illinois).[36]

During the spring and summer, volunteer rangers with the Trails and Rails program from the National Park Service travel on board and provide a narrative between La Junta, Colorado, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Beginning in May 2013, Trails and Rails volunteers also boarded to provide narration between Chicago and La Plata, Missouri.

From June through August, the Southwest Chief is used by Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch via the Raton station. During those months, Raton station is staffed by Amtrak employees and handles checked baggage.

Equipment

[edit]

The Southwest Chief runs Superliner train sets. Trains typically consist of two P40 or P42 locomotives, a baggage car, three or four sleeper cars, a dining car, sightseer lounge and three coach cars.[37] If demand warrants, a fourth coach is added between Chicago and Kansas City. Private cars or deadhead cars also sometimes ride along.[38]

As is already happening on all its long-distance routes, Amtrak will replace the P42DCs with modern Siemens ALC-42 locomotives by 2027, and the Superliner cars with new long-distance cars by 2032.[39]

Route

[edit]
Amtrak Southwest Chief

The portion of the route between La Junta and Albuquerque (Raton and Glorieta Subs) is known for having some of the last active semaphores on a Class I railroad mainline, dating back to the ATSF era. Little and/or no freight traffic on those portions of the Chief's route is what caused the semaphores to last until the present day, although over time many were removed by both BNSF and NMDOT.[40]

In August 2024, the last semaphores located on the NMDOT (former 4th Santa Fe District / Glorieta Sub) section of the line, between WSS Lamy and Waldo Siding near Cerrillos were replaced, leaving only 11 blades currently in operation between Wagon Mound and Colmor, in the BNSF Raton Sub.[41][42]

Stations

[edit]
Amtrak Southwest Chief stations
State City Station
Illinois Chicago Chicago Union
Naperville Naperville
Mendota Mendota
Princeton Princeton
Galesburg Galesburg
Iowa Fort Madison Fort Madison
Missouri La Plata La Plata
Kansas City Kansas City
Kansas Lawrence Lawrence
Topeka Topeka
Newton Newton
Hutchinson Hutchinson
Dodge City Dodge City
Garden City Garden City
Colorado Lamar Lamar
La Junta La Junta
Trinidad Trinidad
New Mexico Raton Raton
Las Vegas Las Vegas
Lamy Lamy
Albuquerque Albuquerque
Gallup Gallup
Arizona Winslow Winslow
Flagstaff Flagstaff
Kingman Kingman
California Needles Needles
Barstow Barstow
Victorville Victorville
San Bernardino San Bernardino
Riverside Riverside
Fullerton Fullerton
Los Angeles Los Angeles Union

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2024 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "History of Seligman, Arizona". Seligmanhistory.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "Amtrak FY23 Ridership" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Amtrak FY19 Ridership" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Amtrak FY16 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. April 17, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  7. ^ Sanders 2006, p. 133
  8. ^ Sanders 2006, p. 128
  9. ^ Sanders 2006, p. 134
  10. ^ "The Last Train Out". Pasadena Star-News. January 15, 1994. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Riverside, CA (RIV)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
  12. ^ "Galesburg to Streator". Donwinter.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  13. ^ John R. Pulliam (December 21, 2009). "Galesburg Amtrak service detoured". Galesburg Register-Mail. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  14. ^ Rex Cherrington (June 20, 1996). "Did Galesburg businessmen really need to pay to bring the Santa Fe Railway to Town?". The Zephyr. Galesburg, Illinois. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  15. ^ "Amtrak National Timetable". Timetables.org. November 10, 1996. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  16. ^ "Amtrak National Timetable". Timetables.org. May 11, 1997. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  17. ^ "Amtrak National Timetable". Timetables.org. May 17, 1998. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  18. ^ "PRIIA Section 210 FY12 Performance Improvement Plan" (PDF). Amtrak. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  19. ^ Zimmermann, Karl (September 2, 2019). "Amtrak's Southwest Chief lives to ride the rails another day". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  20. ^ Fred W. Frailey, "Minus its backbone, Amtrak makes a tempting target," Trains, August 2010, 18.
  21. ^ a b Joseph A. Boardman, "Where is the public input? Where is the transparency?" Railway Age, May 10, 2018.
  22. ^ Jim Souby, "Amtrak gets big boost from Congress, grant from DOT, reviews long-distance trains," ColoRail Passenger, Issue 84, 2018, 5.
  23. ^ ""We write to express our deep concern... "" (PDF).
  24. ^ Ben Kuebrich, "Amtrak May End Passenger Rail Service In West Kansas. Moran: 'Amtrak Is Not Doing Its Job'", KCUR
  25. ^ Senate Approves Moran, Udall Amendment to Maintain Southwest Chief Train Services Senator Jerry Moran official website August 1, 2018
  26. ^ "Senators land $225k to study adding Amtrak spur in Colorado Springs". KOAA News 5 Southern Colorado. February 29, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  27. ^ Tingerthal, Tom (May 9, 2022). "Carrollton Approved For AMTRAK Stop Funding". KCHI Radio. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  28. ^ "State Rep. Peggy McGaugh and State Sen. Denny Hoskins Announce Funding for Amtrak Station in Carrollton". The Missouri Times. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  29. ^ "Derailment of Amtrak train No. 4 The Southwest Limited on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company Lawrence, Kansas October 2, 1979" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. April 29, 1980. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  30. ^ Riccardi, Nicholas; Gorman, Tom (August 10, 1997). "Train From L.A. Derails in Arizona; 154 Injured". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  31. ^ Dvorak, John (February 4, 2014). Earthquake Storms: An Unauthorized Biography of the San Andreas Fault. New York: Open Road Media. p. 264. ISBN 978-1-4804-4786-8. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016.
  32. ^ "Amtrak train derails in Kansas". BBC News. March 14, 2016. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  33. ^ ""Amtrak train derails near Cimarron". Dodge City Daily Globe. March 14, 2016. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  34. ^ Shapiro, Emily (June 27, 2022). "Amtrak train with 243 passengers on board derails in Missouri; injuries reported". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  35. ^ "NTSB: Amtrak train was below speed limit before fatal crash". AP News. June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  36. ^ Johnston, Bob (May 3, 2023). "110 mph Schedules Coming for Amtrak Chicago-St. Louis Corridor". Trains. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  37. ^ "Amtrak - Southwest Chief". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  38. ^ "On Track On Line – Superliner Sleeper Names". on-track-on-line.com. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  39. ^ "FY 2022-2027 Service and Asset Line Plans" (PDF). Amtrak. 2021. p. 133.
  40. ^ Franz, Justin (October 7, 2022). "Santa Fe Semaphores Slated for Replacement in New Mexico". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  41. ^ Gunnoe, Chase (August 19, 2024). "More semaphores fall on Southwest Chief route". Trains Magazine. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  42. ^ "More Santa Fe Semaphores Fall in New Mexico". Railfan & Railroad Magazine. August 19, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
[edit]
KML is from Wikidata

Media related to Southwest Chief at Wikimedia Commons