Southwest Chief

Southwest Chief
The Southwest Chief heading west toward Trinidad, Colorado against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Range.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail, higher speed rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Western United States
First service	1971
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Ridership	972 daily 354,912 total (FY11)[1]
Route
Start	Chicago, Illinois
Stops	31
End	Los Angeles, California
Distance travelled	2,256 mi (3,631 km)
Average journey time	42 hours, 15 minutes
Service frequency	Daily each way
On-board services
Class(es)	Coach and First
Seating arrangements	Airline-style coach seating
Sleeping arrangements	Superliner Roomette (2 beds) Family Bedroom (4 beds) Superliner Bedroom (2 beds) Superliner Bedroom Suite (4 beds) Superliner Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
Catering facilities	Fully licensed dining car On-board café
Observation facilities	Sightseer Lounge Car
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stock	P42 locomotives Superliner cars
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Operating speed	90 mph (145 km/h) maximum 55 mph (89 km/h) average (including stops)
Track owner(s)	BNSF
Route map Legend Dist. Station 0 mi Chicago Old Route Joliet 28 mi  45 km  Naperville Streator 83 mi  134 km  Mendota Chillicothe, Illinois 104 mi  167 km  Princeton Old Route 162 mi  261 km  Galesburg Illinois/Iowa border 220 mi  354 km  Fort Madison Iowa/Missouri border 298 mi  480 km  La Plata 437 mi  703 km  Kansas City Missouri/Kansas border 477 mi  768 km  Lawrence 503 mi  810 km  Topeka 638 mi  1027 km  Newton 671 mi  1080 km  Hutchinson 782 mi  1259 km  Dodge City 832 mi  1339 km  Garden City Kansas/Colorado border 932 mi  1500 km  Lamar 985 mi  1585 km  La Junta 1066 mi  1716 km  Trinidad Colorado/New Mexico border 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 New Mexico/Arizona border 1633 mi  2628 km  Winslow 1691 mi  2721 km  Flagstaff 1721 mi  2770 km  Williams Junction 1864 mi  3000 km  Kingman Arizona/California border 1931 mi  3108 km  Needles 2100 mi  3380 km  Barstow 2137 mi  3439 km  Victorville 2184 mi  3515 km  San Bernardino Old Route 2194 mi  3531 km  Riverside Pomona 2230 mi  3589 km  Fullerton Pasadena Old Route 2256 mi  3631 km  Los Angeles

The Southwest Chief (formerly the Southwest Limited and Super Chief) is a higher speed passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 2256-mile (3631 km) route through the Midwestern and Southwestern United States. It runs from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, passing through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

During fiscal year 2011, the Southwest Chief carried a total over 350,000 passengers, a 3.7% increase from FY 2010. The train had a total of revenue of $44,184,060 during FY 2011, a 6.2% increase from FY 2010.^[1]

History

The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, a train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) until 1971 and later by Amtrak until March 1974 when the Santa Fe forced Amtrak to stop using the name because of a perceived decline in quality after Amtrak took over the Santa Fe's passenger trains. After subsequent improvements in service, the Santa Fe allowed Amtrak to change the name of the Southwest Limited to the Southwest Chief on October 28, 1984.

National Chief

During 1997 and part of 1998, Amtrak operated the Southwest Chief in conjunction with the Capitol Limited, a daily Washington-Chicago service. 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 the "National Chief" with its own numbers (15/16), although the name and numbers were never used. Amtrak dropped the practice with the May 1998 timetable.^[2][3][4]

Operations

Boy scouts unload their equipment at Raton in 2011.

The train currently consists of two P42 locomotives, one baggage car, one Superliner transition sleeping car, two Superliner sleeping cars, a Superliner dining car, a Superliner lounge car, and three Superliner coach cars (one of which is usually a coach-baggage car). A fourth Superliner coach may be added during peak travel periods.

Unique among all long distance Superliner trains, the Southwest Chief is permitted to run up to a maximum of 90 mph (145 km/h) along significant portions of the route because of Automatic train stop installed by the Santa Fe railroad.^[5] Given Amtrak's own projected 41 hour travel time, the average speed is still in excess of 55 mph (including stops).

During the spring and summer months, Volunteer Rangers with the Trails & Rails program from the National Park Service travel onboard and provide a narrative between La Junta, Colorado, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Starting in May 2013, Volunteer Rangers with Trails & Rails will also be onboard providing a narrative between Chicago, Illinois, and La Plata, Missouri.

During the months of June, July and August, the Southwest Chief is used by thousands of Boy Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch via the Raton Amtrak Station. During those months Raton station is occupied by Amtrak employees and handles checked baggage.

In the January 2011 issue of Trains Magazine, this route was listed as one of five routes to be looked at by Amtrak in FY 2012 and examined like previous routes (Sunset, Eagle, Zephyr, Capitol, and Cardinal) were examined in FY 2010.^[6]

Kansas downgrade

According to the August 2010 issue of Trains Magazine, the Southwest Chief currently faces some challenges regarding some moves made by BNSF to cease all freight operations between La Junta, CO, and Lamy, NM. It was reported that BNSF told Amtrak as of January 1, 2010, that all maintenance costs belonged to Amtrak if they wished to pursue routing the train over the same right-of-way. Furthermore, BNSF has also declared that it will maintain the tracks between Hutchinson, KS, and La Junta, CO, at a Class three (60 mph passenger train maximum) speed instead of a Class four (79 mph passenger train maximum), again handing the bill over to Amtrak if they wanted to see service at a Class four level. These moves have led BNSF to offer to host the Southwest Chief over BNSF's currently used freight routes via Wichita, KS, Wellington, KS, Amarillo, TX, and Clovis, NM; however, Amtrak has refused and insists that they will pay the bill in order to keep the service as it currently is.^[7]

Route Changes and Current Route Description

Route Changes

Prior to 1996, the Chief operated on a different alignment between Chicago and Galesburg, Illinois via Joliet, Streator and Chilicothe on the Santa Fe’s Chilicothe subdivision due to the lack of a connecting track between the Burlington Northern route used by the California Zephyr between Chicago and Galesburg and the Chilicothe Subdivision that the train takes to Fort Madison, Iowa. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Santa Fe in 1996, a connecting track was installed at Cameron, Illinois in order to allow both freight and passenger trains to connect from the Mendota Subdvision to the Chilicothe subdivision ^[8] and the Chief was rerouted through Naperville, Princeton, and Mendota out to Galesburg.

Near its western terminus, a route change took place in early 1994, when the train was re-routed onto the Santa Fe Third District via Fullerton and Riverside when previously it served Pasadena and Pomona via the Santa Fe Pasadena Line, until that route was closed to all through-traffic and subsequently converted to the LACMTA Gold Line light rail system of today.

Current Route Description

Amtrak's Southwest Chief^[9] departs Los Angeles Union Station in downtown LA at 6:15 p.m. (Pacific Time), making its way through suburban Fullerton, Riverside, and San Bernardino, California. After climbing through Cajon Pass, the train enters the Mojave Desert and stops in Victorville, Barstow and Needles, California. The Southwest Chief then crosses Arizona with stops in Kingman, Williams Junction, Flagstaff and Winslow, Arizona. Entering New Mexico around 8:00 a.m. (Mountain Time), the train stops briefly in Gallup before crossing the Rio Grande and entering Albuquerque for an extended stop. The rest of the afternoon is spent traversing NE New Mexico's highlands with stops in Lamy, Las Vegas, and Raton, New Mexico. The train then crosses Raton Pass before stopping in Trinidad. East of there the Southwest Chief is on the open plains, and has a handful of stops (notably La Junta, Colorado and Topeka, Kansas) before reaching Kansas City, Missouri early the next morning. After a long stop in Kansas City the train stops once more in Missouri, at La Plata, and at Fort Madison, Iowa. Crossing the Mississippi River before Noon (Central Time), the Southwest Chief stops at the Illinois rail towns of Galesburg, Princeton, and Mendota. The final leg of the trip goes through the ex-urbs and suburbs of Chicago, such as Naperville, Illinois. The train arrives at Chicago Union Station at 3:15 p.m. (Central Time), offering views of the Chicago skyline, including the famed Willis Tower (previously known as the Sears Tower) before heading underground to the station platform. Trains westbound now depart from Chicago Union Station at 3:00 p.m. and arrive at Los Angeles Union Station at 8:15 a.m. roughly two days later.

Amtrak Southwest Chief (interactive map)

Trails & Rails program

On certain days of the week, volunteer rangers with the National Park Service provide commentary for train passengers between Chicago, Illinois and La Plata, Missouri on the Southwest Chief. This interpretive program is free of charge for all coach and sleeping car passengers and is presented in the upper level of Amtrak's Sightseer Lounge Car. Volunteers tell passengers about the natural and historical features of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. This program typically takes place during two round-trips per week during the busy summer and winter holiday travel periods. Texas A&M University and the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation in La Plata, MO serve as additional local sponsors. More information and a current schedule can be found at the link below: http://www.nps.gov/findapark/trailsandrails/index.htm.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southwest Chief.

• Amtrak - Southwest Chief