G e n e r a l O f f i c e P. O. B o x 1 1 4 9 S a n t a F e, N M 8 7 5 0 4 

Michelle Lujan 

Grisham

Governor

Michael R. Sandoval 

Cabinet Secretary 

Commissioners

Jennifer Sandoval

Commissioner, Vice-Chairman 

District 1 

Bruce Ellis 

Commissioner 

District 2 

Hilma E. Chynoweth 

Commissioner 

District 3 

Walter G. Adams 

Commissioner, Chairman 

District 4 

Thomas C. Taylor 

Commissioner 

District 5 

Charles Lundstrom

Commissioner, Secretary 

District 6

May 28, 2021

The Honorable Pete Buttigieg

U.S. Secretary of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Buttigieg,

The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) has not yet certified Amtrak’s

Southwest Chief schedule, in accordance with the Metrics and Minimum Standards for

Intercity Passenger Rail Service final rule, published on November 16, 2020.  That rule added

a new Part 273 to Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations establishing the procedures for

certifying schedules.  This letter provides the NMDOT position regarding the status of

certifying the Southwest Chief schedule as required under section 273.5(c)(2)(iv) of Part 273.

The Southwest Chief operates one train daily in each direction between Chicago and Los

Angeles, a distance of 2,265 miles according to Amtrak’s published schedules.  The NMDOT‐

owned railroad, New Mexico Rail Runner Express, which operates using the reporting mark

NMRX, is the host railroad for 80 miles of the Southwest Chief route located near its

midpoint.  The Southwest Chief includes two station stops on NMRX, at Albuquerque and

Lamy.  The eastbound Southwest Chief has scheduled station arrivals at Albuquerque and

Lamy at 11:20 AM and 1:02 PM, respectively.  The westbound Southwest Chief has

scheduled station arrivals at Lamy and Albuquerque at 1:58 PM and 3:29 PM, respectively.  

Amtrak’s published schedules also incorporate recovery time and time to service the trains

at Albuquerque.

The Southwest Chief shares 57 miles of its route on NMRX with New Mexico Rail Runner

Express, the commuter railroad connecting the cities of Belen, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe.  

Late arrivals of the Southwest Chief on NMRX territory often result in conflicts between the

Southwest Chief and Rail Runner evening peak service.  These conflicts result either in

lengthy delays for 1,000 Rail Runner commuters returning from work in the evening if the

Southwest Chief is given priority, or to financial penalties for NMRX if the Southwest Chief is

held until an operational window opens up.

On January 5, 2021, after receiving a written request from Amtrak to certify the Southwest

Chief schedule in accordance with Part 237, NMDOT responded in writing that it would like

to meet to discuss Amtrak’s Southwest Chief schedule before providing such a letter.  

NMDOT did not receive a response to, or acknowledgement of, that request until May 14,

2021.  This lack of response precluded having any discussions with Amtrak related to the

certification of the Southwest Chief schedule in advance of the May 17, 2021 deadline for

certification identified in Part 273.  An initial meeting with Amtrak to discuss the process for

certifying schedules did occur on May 24, 2021, and additional meetings are planned in the

coming months to certify the schedule.
The delayed response from Amtrak to NMDOT’s request for discussions is the reason

certification of the Southwest Chief schedule in advance of the May 17, 2021 deadline did

not occur.  Language in Part 273 stating that certifying Amtrak’s schedule will preclude later

decertification of the schedule is a reason for NMDOT to not certify the schedule until it has

had a chance to have these discussions.  Additionally, NMDOT understands that BNSF, which

is the host railroad for all but about 100 miles of the Southwest Chief, has not only declined

to certify the Southwest Chief schedule but is disputing the schedule under Part 273.  

Certifying the Southwest Chief schedule while the nature of the dispute between BNSF and

Amtrak over the schedule is not known may not be in NMDOT’s interest.   

NMDOT does have concerns with the schedule and the Part 273 metrics that it desires to

discuss with Amtrak before certification.  Below, NMDOT lists several concerns with the

Southwest Chief schedule that it would like to discuss with Amtrak.  This list may be

expanded on once certification discussions with Amtrak advance.

1. NMDOT has no control over whether trains arrive on‐time at the two Southwest

Chief stations on the NMDOT‐owned railroad, which is a key factor in determining

Customer OTP, the primary metric in the rulemaking.  The Southwest Chief route is

2,265 miles long, with only 80 miles of it on NMDOT‐owned track situated near the

midpoint of the route.   

2. The host running time metric may be of limited value in evaluating NMDOT’s

performance in hosting the Southwest Chief due to the inclusion in the schedule of

recovery time and train servicing in Albuquerque.  Trains that arrive late for their

entry onto NMDOT track will perform better under this metric than trains that arrive

in time, unless additional delays occur while the Southwest Chief is within NMRX

territory.

3. Late arrivals of the Southwest Chief on NMRX territory, which are not the fault of

NMRX, often directly conflict with scheduled Rail Runner evening commuter service.  

This conflict results either in delays for approximately 1,000 Rail Runner commuters

returning from work, or in financial penalties for NMRX if the Southwest Chief is

held until an operational window opens up.

Sincerely,

Michael Sandoval

Cabinet Secretary

   

Justin Reese (May 28, 2021 15:31 MDT)

Justin Reese
Cc:

The Honorable Martin Heinrich, U.S. Senate

The Honorable Ben Ray Lujan, U.S. Senate

The Honorable Yvette Herrell, Member of Congress

The Honorable Teresa Leger Fernandez, Member of Congress

William Flynn, Amtrak CEO

David Harris, NMDOT Transit and Rail Division Director

Bill Craven, NMDOT Rail Bureau Manager
NMDOT Letter to USDOT on Schedule

Certification of Southwest Chief 2021-05-28

Final Audit Report 2021-05-28

Created: 2021-05-28

By: David Harris (davidc.harris@state.nm.us)

Status: Signed

Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAA0JY-m2lSbskdZUeC-khO7z3PQwqTe1xO

"NMDOT Letter to USDOT on Schedule Certification of Southwe

st Chief 2021-05-28" History

Document created by David Harris (davidc.harris@state.nm.us)

2021-05-28 - 9:18:17 PM GMT- IP address: 172.58.109.26

Document emailed to Justin Reese (Justin.Reese@state.nm.us) for signature

2021-05-28 - 9:18:50 PM GMT

Email viewed by Justin Reese (Justin.Reese@state.nm.us)

2021-05-28 - 9:31:00 PM GMT- IP address: 174.205.39.185

Document e-signed by Justin Reese (Justin.Reese@state.nm.us)

Signature Date: 2021-05-28 - 9:31:17 PM GMT - Time Source: server- IP address: 174.205.39.185

Agreement completed.

2021-05-28 - 9:31:17 PM GMT