America's intercity passenger rail system is building piecemeal, using individual, state-oriented passenger projects to eventually grow to create a more robust passenger system — the kind America deserves. (Some would say we deserve Amtrak, but that's an opinion we can discuss another time.) The piecemeal projects range from those still in the thought experiment stage to those that would be deemed beyond shovel-ready.

In researching this topic, I read a news story in Mass Transit that reminded me what an active role Colorado has played in retaining the current routing of Amtrak's Southwest Chief. It also reminded me that Colorado's legislature mandated that the commission tasked with funding the Chief is also tasked with a passenger rail connection to Pueblo, Colorado.

Several years ago, my home state of New Mexico was funding its costly Rail Runner Express commuter train (Santa Fe to Belen). When the state agreed to purchase the Southwest Chief route in New Mexico from Albuquerque all the way to the state line, I opined that Colorado ought to get hold of the so-called Joint Line from Denver down to Raton and, with New Mexico, make it possible to establish passenger service all the way from Denver to Albuquerque.

This map shows the current Southwest Chief route (in red) through Colorado and into New Mexico. (Image: Sharemap.org)

Also, since Kansas is in the mixed Southwest Chief bag, a train between Denver and Trinidad could then connect with the Chief, and a second daily trip might be funded by the states from Kansas City, at least as far as Albuquerque, but perhaps all the way south to El Paso, Texas. Either option would have established a passenger connection for Pueblo.

Alas, the recession made New Mexico pull out of the purchase of BNSF Railway's route, and the taxpayers here have been hurt mightily by Rail Runner, leaving few ready to support a massive new train. Colorado, however, is on to something.

To connect with the rest of Amtrak, the train has only to go from Pueblo to La Junta, a long stop on the Chief's schedule and one occurring at decent hours (8:15 a.m. westbound – 7:31 p.m. eastbound) when on time. The distance from Pueblo is only about 70 miles as opposed to 90 to Trinidad, making a two-hour schedule feasible for two daily round trips. Not bad for a connecting train!

But the arguments for a train and against a bus have a high bar to clear. Not the least of these arguments is that Pueblo or the state could subsidize a private bus operator for far less than the cost of maintaining two trainsets, subsidizing rail infrastructure and staffing a train. (The only bus connection on Amtrak's schedule is a Denver-Raton bus that makes no sense to me — nor probably anybody else.)

That's why, in cases like this, I still say, "If you're going to advocate passenger rail, go big or go home." Perhaps the good people of Pueblo have already figured this out, in which case I respectfully ask them to consider some of my prerecession routing.

Why connect with a train and route that Amtrak cares little about? For the states of New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas, the routing of today's Chief would be through Amarillo, Texas, and Clovis, New Mexico, with an awkward reverse move or bus service from Belen, N.M., to get to Albuquerque — the only decent-sized city between Kansas City and San Bernardino on the current route.

This could still happen anytime the states can't pony up the money to nurse along the aging routing over Raton Pass. This route actually needs complete rebuilding, but that is another story.

When you could be attempting rail service from Denver to Pueblo (or Trinidad), connecting some major Colorado population centers, why just punt? Go big! Maybe with big, you could make your connections to the California Zephyr and tell the Southwest Chief to go to blazes.