AUSTIN, Texas — A Congressman is asking Amtrak to consider service that could give the passenger carrier a connection to Mexico.
KSTA radio reports that U.S. Rep Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) met with Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner and Chief Financial Officer Tracie Winbigler about the possibility of Amtrak resurrecting long-discontinued service between San Antonio and Laredo, Texas. This would connect to a proposed service between Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey, Mexico, currently under consideration by the Mexican government.
Not clear is whether Amtrak would operate into Mexico, the Mexican operation would enter the U.S., or passengers would have to make other arrangements between the two.
Cuellar said the proposal will require state permission to proceed as well as a study on financing and construction.
“Texas may be a little resistant to this, but we’re hoping the state of Texas would look at this as a public-private partnership and the billions of dollars the federal government could use [for the construction],” Cuellar told KSTA. “You’re talking about up to $12 billion that could be used for this new corridor.” Those funds would be available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year.
The San Antonio-Laredo route was not among potential new services on an Amtrak wish list released last year [see “Amtrak unveils ‘Connects US’ map …,” Trains News Wire, March 31, 2021].
The closest Amtrak has come to operating to Mexico was the Inter American, which began as a Fort Worth-to-Laredo train on Jan. 28, 1973. It was eventually extended to St. Louis and then Chicago, becoming what is now the Texas Eagle when the San Antonio-Laredo segment was dropped in October 1981.
There were never any through cars into Mexico during the Amtrak era; passengers had to make their own arrangements between Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, but connections there gradually deteriorated from tenuous to non-existent. Although a Chicago-Laredo sleeping car was operated into 1981, the southbound train arrived into Laredo at 1:20 a.m., the train to Mexico City had already departed at 6:55 p.m. Northbound connections were possible during most of the train’s existence, but at the end, the northbound Inter-American departed Laredo at 5:55 a.m., an hour and a half before the train from Mexico City arrived into Nuevo Laredo.
— Correspondent Bob Johnston contributed to this report.
Density forecast, please.
I’ve got to go with Mark on this one.
I rode the Eagle from Dallas to Laredo during the late 70s. I don’t remember the exact year. If I remember correctly, because of the poor track condition, the maximum speed between San Antonio and Laredo was 45 mph.
In FY21 the Eagle had an average loss per passenger of $38.73 before interest, depreciation, and miscellaneous charges. Extending the train to Laredo probably would increase this number.
Seriously doubt Abbutt, DUH-santis or the rest of the crazies would even allow this to go one inch towards the border.
Good point. We’ve got the same problems with crazies in government over here in Bama. They are doing all they can to block the proposed Amtrak service between Mobile and N.O.
Mr. Thompson, given that Amtrak either cannot or will not operate the LD trains daily, given that mechanical problems, most notably at Chicago, are causing many delays and late departures, given that Mr. Gardner discontinued Trains 97&98 supposedly until 3/27 and now indefinitely and probably for good, I’m not sure Amtrak should be launching any new services until they get their house in order. And I’ll go a step further. If Mr. Gardner really wanted run new trains re the Connect US 2035 expansion he could have gone to Massachusetts where CSX is trying to win MassDOT’s approval for it’s takeover of Pan Am Railways. Connect US 2035 calls for two daily round trips ALB-BOS and MassDOT wants that
(maybe only until they are faced with paying for them per the PRIIA 209). And CSX has promised it would work with the DOT for service expansion west of Worcester in exchange for approval for CSX+PAR. So we have fertile ground. I believe Mr. Gardner started with NOL-Mobile precisely because he knew he’d be stirring up a hornet’s nest. I believe Stephen Gardner wants the STB to rule against him so he and Congress can take that as indication how the rest of Connect US 2035 will go with the host railroads. Then he gets to walk away and retreat to the only place he wants to run trains, his comfort zone, his 450 mile playpen, the NEC.
Is it relevant that the congressman is in a closely contested primary run off for reelection?
This would only be viable if there was actually a usable connection at the border. A dedicated bus service between the Amtrak station on the US side and the Mexican railroad station on the Mexico side could make this feasible. Even better, a run-through service from San Antonio to Monterey.