An effort to help received a small symbolic boost on Tuesday with the announcement that local communities committed about $250,000 in matching donations toward a federal grant.
About a dozen southern Colorado stakeholders, including Pueblo and Otero counties and the Trinidad Tourism Board, committed the mix of tax and private dollars.
These entities are partnering with officials from communities in Kansas, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and Amtrak to submit the application for a $15 million federal grant — an initial step toward securing costs for an estimated $200 million worth of maintenance on the train’s current route.
Additional matching funds outside Colorado include: BNSF $2 million, Amtrak $4 million and the state of Kansas $3 million. Combined with the federal grant, the commitment would create a total of $24 million to go toward track maintenance.
“It’s seed money, it shows local entities are willing to put up money to keep the train in southern Colorado,” said state Rep. Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo.
Still, it’s been proposed that Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, BNSF and Amtrak needed to split the $200 million in estimated costs required to repair more than 600 miles of current track between Hutchinson, Kan., and Albuquerque. If the roughly $40 million is not secured by the states, then the train could be rerouted, affecting communities that span Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico.
The federal grant would fund about 80 miles of repairs.
A measure making its way through the Colorado legislature would create a commission that would work closely with neighboring states, Amtrak and BNSF to map out additional funding to keep the train in the state. A mix of southern Colorado residents and rail and tourist industries would sit on the commission.
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655, klee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kurtisalee
